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ky-  PRINCETON.  N.  J.  -Or 


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HISTORY 


CHEISTIAI^   CHUECH, 


ESTABLISHMENT  BY  CHRIST  TO  A.  D.  1871. 


INCLUDING  THE 


KISE  OF  THE  EOMAK  HERESY,  ALL  THE  POPES,  THE  TEMPORAL  POWER,  THE 
ABOMINATIONS  OF  POPERY,  AND  THE  REFORMATION. 


By  K.  SUMMERBELL,  D.  D., 

Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy,  and  First  President  of  Union  Christian  ColUgt ;  Editor  of  the 
*' Christian  Pulpit,"  "Discussions,"  "Church  History,"  Eto. 


'Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  oharoli ;  and  the  gatea  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  agaiaat  it."-jKsr9. 
'Other  foundation  oaa  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ." — Paul 


THIED  EDITION.  1873. 


CINCINNATI : 
PUBLISHED  AT  THE  OFFICE  OP  THE  CHRISTIAN  PULPIT, 

184  Longworth  Street. 
1873. 


Dedication. 


To   MY  ilOTHER, — 

MARY  SUMMERBELL, 
JtToW  IN   THE  82d   YEAR   OP   HER    LIFE,  AND  50  YEARS  THE  WIDOW 
OF   MY   FATHER, 

REV.  JAMES  SUMMERBELL, 
And  WHO,  solitary  and  sorrowful,  yet  devoted  and  hope- 
ful, TOILED  ON  IN  THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  DEPARTED,  LIVING  TO  SEE 
THREE  SONS  AND  TWO  GRAND-SONS  IN  THE  MINISTRY,  AND  TO  CHEER 
THEM  IN  THEIR  WORK  BY  HER  ABLE  LETTERS,  CHRISTIAN  COUNSEL, 
AND  PIOUS  EXAMPLE  :  I  DEDICATE  THIS  WORK  AS  A  TRIBUTE  OP 
RESPECT,  AND    TOKEN  OP  REMEMBRANCE  OP  A  MoTHER's  CARE  AND 

A  Mother's  love. 

N.  SUMMERBELL, 
Pastor  of  Bible  Chapel,  Cincinnati,  0. 
March  8,  1871,  my  b5th  birthday. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1871, 

Bt  N.  SUMMERBELL,  D.  D., 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


PREFACE. 


The  present  attitude  of  the  Christian  world  renders  a  familiar  knowl- 
edge of  past  events  interesting  to  all.   The  voluminous  and  costly  character 
of  the  works  extant,  and  their  failure  to  discover  the  origin  of  the  Roman 
church,  and  to  give  its  history  of  creeds,  councils,  pagan  popes,  and  papal 
persecutions,  separate  from  the  true  church,  so  as  to  he  easily  understood 
and  readily  referred  to,  renders  a  new  volume  necessary.    This  history  is 
arranged  on  a  new  plan.     Its  church  and  creed  are  those  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles.     The  church  it  recognizes  is  the  whole  family  of  God  on  earth ; 
the  children  of  God;  the  followers  of  Jesus ;  the  kingdom  of  heaven  among 
men.      It    includes    all    the    good,    and    them    alone.      Membership    in 
earthly  sects  and  national  churches  constitutes  no  man  a  member  of  God's 
church ;  the  entrance  into  it  is  by  a  new  and  heavenly  birth,  wherein  the 
children  are  made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature.    Its  creed  is  the  word 
of  God,  the  only  creed  of  the  apostolic  church ;    the  only  one  on  which 
God's  people  ever  were,  or  can  be,  united ;  the  only  infallible  guide.    The 
historical  authorities  are  drawn  from  all  denominations,  and  are  presented 
in  the  words  of  the  authors,  so  that  the  reader  becomes  familiar  with  many 
histories  in  one.    "Words  in  the  dead  languages,  supposed  to  be  improper  for 
common  readers,  are  translated,  that  all  may  see  all  the  truth.     It  is  not 
divided   into  sections,  parts,  and   chapters,  but   into  ages,  centuries,  and 
years,  that  the  reader  may  readily  find  and  locate  the  facts  recorded.     The 
Eoman  church  is  not  confounded  with  the  Christian,  but  its  separate  his- 
tory is  given  in  a  separate  column,  to  be  read  by  itself.    (See  left-hand 
column  from  page  230  to  page  414.) 

It  gives  the  pagan  origin,  and  a  full  catalogue  of  the  Eoman  popes, 
creeds,  councils,  and  persecutions,  with  the  dates  in  chronological  order.  In 
such  brief  narratives,  copious  extracts,  brilliant  quotations,  and  lucid  state- 
ments as  will  at  the  same  time  entertain  and  edify,  interest  and  instruct, 
amuse  and  benefit,  and  be  read  without  wearying,  the  history  continues 
from  the  birth  of  our  Savior,  A.  M.  4,004,  to  the  year  of  our  Lord  1870. 


'  This  is  mj  bolovei  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased ;  hear  ye  tia."— Sol. 


JESUS— THE  80JT  OF  aOQ—I3J^Y  OJTLY  LEJIQEI^. 


The  ^ible  is  my 
Only  Creed. 


J£y  Communion 
Is  With  _fiU   Christians 


By  Thsir  Fruits  Ye  Shall  Know  Thsm.— Jesus* 


2j  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  ay  disciples,  if  ye  have  I079  one  to  another.— C^rwi. 


Table  of  Contents. 


CHRIST  AND   HIS   KINGDOM, 

The  Savior's  Birth  and  Character 9-  10 

His  Likeness,  Sufferings  and  Death , 11-  16 

Important  Witnesses — His  Words  concerning  Himself. 17-  19 

The  Word  of  God  was  known  as  the  Creed  and  Rule 19-  20 

The  Prophesies  concerning  Christ  literally  Fulfilled 21-  26 

Internal  Evidence  of  the  Bible — Jehovah  and  his  Word 26-  27 

The  Mother  Church— First  Bishops 28-  33 

THE    EVANGELICAL   AGE. 

The  Apostle  Peter's  Likeness — Peter  not  a  Pope 34-  38 

John  and  the  Converted  Robber 38-  39 

John  against  Dividing  the  Lord  into  Two  Persons — "My  God"  40-  41 

The  Lord's  Brother — Paul's  Likeness 45-  48 

Eighteen  Apostles — Catalogue  of  Books 49-  53 

Testimony  of  the  "fathers"  to  all  the  Books 55-  57 

The  Martyrs  "fathers" 59-  74 

THE    AGE   OF    CONFLICT. 

Tertullian's  Apology — Cyprian — Story  of  Dionysius  of  Alexan- 
dria— Thi'ee  Roman  Centurians 75-  81 

Pagan  Testimony — Pliny  to  Trajan 83-  85 

Gibbon — Josephus  and  Pagan  Writers 85-  96 

THE   AGE    OF   TRIUMPH. 

Horrible  State  of  the  Pagan  World —Conversion 97-101 

Heresies — Rome  Opposing  the  Apostle  John 103-105 

Novatian  is  not  Re-baptized — Sabellius 107-109 

Theophilus  first  uses  the  Word  Trinity 110-111 

Nazarenes — Mary's  Creed  that  dropped  down  from  heaven 111-123 

A.  D.  269 — The  First  Council  Condemned  Ilomoousian — Paul 124-135 

Officers — Female  Presbyters — Teachers 130-139 

Early  Historians  not  Catholics — Spread  of  the  Gospel 140-141 

Chi'istian  Name — Baptism 143-147 

The  Supper — Sabbath — Miracles — Music — Sports — War — Mar- 
riage   150-156 


VI  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


Morality — Charity — Liberty — Honesty — Amusement — Prayer.. .157-1 61 

Conversion — Remission — Education 162-164 

Apocraphal  Books — Creeds — Apostles'  Creed 165-169 

The  Ten  Persecutions— The  Mother  Eating  her  Child 170-178 

The  Emperors  of  the  First  Three  Centuries 171-185 

THE    TRANSITION    AGE- 

Eight  Schisms— The  Great  Apostacy 186-229 

Constantine,  the  Supreme  Pontiff,  a  Christian  Bishop 188-392 

Christianity  Triumphant — Eminent  Ministers 189-193 

Trinity  not  a  Fundamental  Article  of  Faith — Xeander 201 

Nicene  Council — "  An  Evil  Demon  "  brings  Ruin 203 

Nicene  Trinitarians  are  now  called  Arians 201-217 

Holy  Character  of  others  now  called  Arians 204-207 

Bitter  Spirit  of  the  Roman  Catholics — "  No  wild  Beasts  are  so 

Cruel" 218-400 

The  "  Fathers"  Ignorant  of  Orthodox  Doctrine 215-216 

Excellent  Remarks  of  Marcellinus 219 

Homoousian  Condemned  by  the  Council  of  Antioch  as  Heresy 

Adopted  in  the  Nicene  Creed 213-220 

Constantia,  the  Emperor's  Sister,  Advises  Submission 227 

Number  of  Arians — The  Romans  call  all  who  Protest  Arians 224-229 

THE   ROMAN   CHURCH,  A.  D.    325. 

The  Roman  Church  commenced  (left  column) 230-413 

Two  Creeds— Some  Protestants  prefer  the  one  called  Arian 230-232 

The  Emperor's  Sword  decides  for  the  Nicene  Creed 234-235 

In  the  new  Roman  Church  for  Emperors  and  Bishops,  Pagans 
and     Unconverted     Sinners     are     baptized    after    being 

chosen 236, 237,  244,  287-315 

First  Catholic  Historians  Unconverted  Lawyers ....140-290 

The  old  Roman  Spirit  of  Cruelty  cultivated  by  the  Catholics, 

Burning  too  cruel  for  Traitors   reserved    for   Heretics...  228-239 

Odium  Theologicum,  and  how  to  believe  History 242-243 

Constantine  Relenting — Arians  recalled — Poisoned 243-244 

Gonstantine's  Baptism  bv  Eusebius  of  Nicomedia,  and  Death... 

Constantine's  Laws — Sunday 245-247 

Councils — Antioch,  in  269.  Condemned  what  Nice  approved 129-244 

Councils — Of  forty-four,  thirteen  are  Roman  Catholic 245,  250-320 

Donatists — Their  Persecution  advised  by  St.  Augustine 246-247 

Catholics  admit  Rome  to  be  the  Babylon  of  Revelation 249-262 

The  Faithful  Missionaries  are  now  called  Arians .264-272 

A.  D.  38 — Theodosius,  the  First  Emperor,  baptized  unto  the 
Trinity— Orders  those  holding  the  Creed  of  the  Pontiff  of 
Rome  to  assume  the  name  Catholics , 287-318 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


He  seizes  one  hundred  Churches    for  them  in   Constantino- 
ple  288,289-311 

He  sends  his  Army  to  establish  Popery  by  the  Sword 289-299 

Learned  Ministers  of  the  Fourth  Century 297-298 

THE    AGE    OP   PERSECUTION. 

Persecutors  Barbarians — Origin  of  Popery 271-299 

Emperor  of  the  Fourth  Century— Theodosius 300,  311-319 

Justinian— His  sixty-four  Provinces— Cruel  Edicts 307,  308-339 

The  "Council  of  Gladiators"  finish  the  Trinity,  Mosheim 314-318 

Fall  of  the  Nations  by  the  Sword— Dates  given 314-316 

The  ignorant  Catholic  Bishops  deceived  by  the  Arian  Bishops... 331-333 

Councils — The  Athamasian  Creed,  a  Medley  of  Heresies 320-323 

Clovis,  the  first  Eoman  Catholic  King 337-339 

Popes  of  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Centuries 340-345 

THE    DARK  AGES. 

Councils  of  the  Sixth  Century— Justinian  Persecutions 342-343 

Barbarism — Cutting  out  the  Tongue 346-360 

Holy  Bishops'  Adulteries— Stealing  Jewish  Children 343-345 

ORIGIN   OF   THE    POPES. 

Popes — First    Pagan    Senators,    next    Emperors,  then    Bish- 
ops  189,  271,  299-387 

Popes  of  Satan — Popes  Heretics 279-412 

AGE    OF   TEMPORAL   POWER. 

The  Pope  conspires  with  the  King  of  France  for  a  Crown 352-353 

Councils — Toleration  by  the  Arians — Theodoric 354-356 

Pope  Joan,  the  Female  Pontiff— The  Stone  Chairs 357-359 

Popes  condemn  Popes  (some  Arians  yet  exist) 357,  360-361 

Popes  sons  of  Popes— Mistresses  of— "Popes  in  HeH"..341,362,  363-367 
Popes  not  Infallible — John  XXI.  retracts ^ ,.383-468 

AGE    OFABOMINATIONS. 

Popes  and  Prostitutes— Thirty-one  Popes  in  108  years 362-365 

Popes  in  Pairs— Horrible  Catholic  Picture 365-367 

England— King  Lucian  the  first  Christian  King— Helena 367-368 

Arians  still  in  Italy  at  the  Close  of  the  Tenth  Century 368-378 

Popes  of  Threes— The  Iron  Age— A  Fourth 370-371 

Pelagius— Hildebrand— Abelard— Angli  Angels 371-377 

St.  Patrick— Albigenses— Dr.  Stanley  on  Homoousian 375-388 

Cliaracter  and  Fall  of  the  Popes— Last  Council 399-314 

Rome's  Apo»tacy  made  way  for  Mohammedanism 415-428 

Catholics  reproved  by  the  Manicheans 423-428 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


Roman  Emperors — Crusades  and  Cruelty 428-462 

The  three  English  Bishops— Cruelty  to  Queen  Elgira 451^53 

The  Waldenses  and  Albigenses — Doctrine — Name 455-461 

The  Prussians  are  converted  by  the  Sword 462-468 

AGE   OF   APPROACHING   LIGHT 

The  Jews  Persecuted — Templars   Burnt — Arian  Princess  Poi- 
soned         464 

Wickliff — Corruptions  of  Popery 466 

Huss  and  Jerome  burned — Protestant  Princes 468-475 

Luther — He  objects  to  the  Trinity — Luther  on  Baptism 476,  483-485 

Protestants  drowning  Baptist  Ministers 485-492 

Calvin  and  Servetus — Extracts  from  Mosheim 492^93 

England — Her  Princes  and  Learned  Men 494-510 

The  Gunpowder  Plot — Elegant  Extracts  from  Erasmus 498-599 

THE   GLORIOUS    REFORMATION   IN   AMERICA. 

Jones,  Smith,  O'Kelly,  Stone,  Purviance,  begin  the  Work 513-515 

The  first  Free  Biblical  Church  in  America 516-517 

"The  first  Christian  Freeman  I  had  ever  seen" — Smith 517-518 

The  Convert's  Reply — "  None" — Who  will  be  their  Shepherd...         519 

Last  Will  of  the  Presbytery— First  Hymn  Book 520-521 

First  Religious  Newspapers  and  Magazines 522-554 

Plummer,  Kinkade,  Hix,  Hazen,  Goff,  and  other  Ministers 524-429 

Female  Ministry  Revived — The  Six  Women 529-531 

Simon  Clough  and  other  Ministers  in  the  Reformation 532-533 

How  Reuben  Dooley  was  Baptized  by  Stone 533-534 

Interesting  Anecdotes  concerning  Stone  and  Dooley 535-538 

Names  of  Eminent  Christian  Ministers 539-542 

Forty  Versions  of  the  Bible  and  other  authorities  on  Baptism..         543 
Alexander  Campbell  and  his  three  positions — Millard,  Editor 

of  the  Palladium — Young  Men's  Christian  Association 544-545 

First  Modern  Christian  Convention 545-549 

Convention  of  1870  at  Oshawa — Heavenly  Spirit 549-550 

Conferences  and  Churches 551-552 

Union  Christian  College — President  Holmes'  Address 553 

Societies — Their  Officers  and  Object 555 

Christian  Union 555 

The  American  Protestant  Association 556 

Character  of  the  first  Christian  Ministers 556 

Heavenly  Faith  and  Character 557 

Officers  of  the  Convention  of  1872 559 

The  Object  of  this  Work — Truth,  Love  and  Union 560 


CHURCH  HISTORY. 

CHRIST  AND  HIS  KINGDOM. 

FIRST  CENTURY. 

THE    COMING   KINGDOM,   10 — LIKENESS    OF   CHRIST,     14 — DIVINE 

TESTIMONY,  17 CHRIST'S  WORD  CONCERNING    HIMSELF GOD'S 

WORD   HIS    people's  GUIDE,    19 —PROPHECIES    OF    CHRIST,    21 

INTERNAL    EVIDENCE    OF    THE    BIBLE,    26 JEHOVAH,    27 THE 

MOTHER   CHURCH,    28 — THE    FOUNDATION   NOT  PETER,  33 BAB- 
YLON,   ROME,    35 — PETER's    LIKENESS,  36 

"  The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness.  Prepare 
ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths  straight:  every 
valley  shall  be  filled,  and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall 
be  brought  low;  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight, 
and  the  rough  ways  shall  be  made  smooth;"  was  the 
sign  of  the  coming  salvation.  Jesus  dates  his  kingdom 
from  the  days  of  John  the  Baptist.  "The  law  and  the 
prophets  were  until  John:  since  that  time  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  preached,  and  every  man  presseth  into  it."  Luke 
16 :  16.  "And  from  the  days  of  John  the  Baptist  until 
now,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth  violence,  and  the 
violent  take  it  by  force.  For  all  the  prophets  and  the  law 
prophesied  until  John."  Matt.  11  :  12,  13.  "The  king- 
dom of  God  IS  come  unto  you."  Matt.  12:  28.  "Until  John" 
gives  the  close  of  the  Law :  "  from  the  days  of  John,"  the 
commencement  of  the  kingdom.  With  this  agrees  the  time 
named  in  prophecy.  Daniel  gives  490  years,  (or  70  weeks  of 
years)  for  the  time  when  the  Messiah  was  to  be  cut  off,  after 
the  year  when  the  decree  went  forth  to  rebuild  Jerusalem.. 
This  was  in  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes,  A.  M.  3547,  to  which 
add  490  and  we  have  4037.  Christ's  lifewas  33  years,  which 
added  to  4004  brings  us  to  4037,  whenChrist  was  crucified. 
"Most learned  men  agree  that  the  death  of  Christ  happened 
at  the  passover  in  the  month  Nisan^  in  the  4746th  year  of  the 
Julian  period.     Four  hundred  and  ninety  years  reckoned' 


10  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

back  from  the  above  year  leads  to  the  month  Nisan  4256 
of  the  same  period,  the  very  month  and  year  in  which 
Ezra  had  his  commission  from  Artaxerxes,  king  of  Persia, 
to  restore  and  rebuild  Jerusalem."  *  During  this  490 
years  of  Daniel,  we  h.di\e,  first  seven  weeks,  or  forty-nine 
years  to  rebuild  the  city;  second^  sixty-two  weeks,  or  434 
years  to  the  setting  up  of  th^  kingdom,  and  one  week, 
seven  years  for  Christ  to  confirm  the  new  covenant;  and  die. 

Long  and  dark  had  been  the  night  before  the  dawning 
of  the  new  era.  The  first  ray  of  heavenly  light  darted 
upon  the  vision  of  an  old  man  called  Simeon.  "And  it  was 
revealed  unto  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  he  should  not 
see  death,  before  he  had  seen  the  Lord's  Christ." 

Angels  soon  began  to  visit  the  earth  again.  Gabriel 
informed  Zachariah  of  the  coming  of  John ;  then  warned 
Mary  of  her  coming  Lord.  The  streams  oi  inspiration 
now  began  to  flow.  Men  and  women  began  to  prophecy 
■©f  the  coming  kingdom.     A  star  appeared.  Pagan  pil- 

grims came  saying  "  Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the 
Jews  ?"  Heavenly  angels  announced  the  birth  of  the 
Lord.  He  was  born  in  Judea,  at  Bethlehem,  near  Jerusa- 
lem, and  was  announced  by  angels  as  the  Son  of  God. 

Great  men,  patriarchs,  and  kings,  looked  forward  to 
his  day  with  anxiety.  Angels  desired  to  study  the  sub- 
ject of  his  mission.  Prophets  wrote  of  it,  without  fully 
understanding  the  meaning  of  their  words.  And  for  two 
thousand  years  learned,  wise,  and  holy  men,  have,  even 
while  adoring  him,  disagreed  and  contended  about  who 
he  is,  what  he  is,  where  he  was  from,  and  his  origin,  the 
nature  of  his  being,  the  source  of  his  power,  his  relation  to 
God,  and  his  relation  to  man. 

He  entered  the  world  by  birth;  yet  not  as  others  are 
born.  He  left  the  world  by  death ;  yet  not  as  others  die. 
Many  amazed  cried  out,  the  Son  of  God !  Others  wondered 
at  his  greatness,  regarding  him  as  an  angel  visiting  the 
world.     A  few  concluded  that  he  was  a  most  extraordina- 

*SeeEzra7:9.    RoUin  iii.  3«.    Dan.  9:  27.    Clarke. 


BIRTH    OF    CHRIST.  11 

ry  man,  in  whom  God  had  manifested  himself.  Others  de- 
clared him  a  deceiver.  But  his  disciples  proclaimed  him 
"The  Son  of  God,  on  earth  in  the  form  of  a  man." 

No  such  birth  had  ever  before  been  known.  "The  peo- 
ple which  sat  in  darkness  saw  great  light ;  and  to  them 
which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death,  light  is 
sprung  up."  The  blind  received  their  sight.  The  sick 
saw  him,  and  were  healed.  .  When  the  leper  saw  him,  he 
was  cleansed.  Dead  men  arose  to  meet  him.  The  unfruit- 
ful fig-tree  bowed  at  his  command,  and  died  The  angry 
storm  was  hushed  to  silence  at  his  word.  His  blessing 
multiplied  bread  for  famishing  thousands;  but,  above  all, 
He  had  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins.  Satan's  kingdom 
trembled  at  his  approach,  and  the  prince  of  darkness  of- 
fered hira  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  for  his  worship.  But 
Satan  was  cast  out,  for  said  Jesus,  "The  kingdom  of  God 
IS  come."  Old  Christian  historians  say  that  the  heathen 
oracles  were  dumb.  The  reign  of  Heaven  liad  come. 
Winds  and  waves,  trees  and  all  inanimate  things,  were 
obedient.  Sermons  were  preached,  laws  promulgated, 
precepts  uttered,  of  unparalleled  beauty.  Heavenly  mor- 
als were  instituted,  and  universal  relief  given. 

With  no  apparent  advantage  of  birth,  he  is  more 
dignified  than  the  nobility.  Moving  among  the  rude 
and  unlettered,  he  is  gentle  and  kind  to  all.  Upbraided 
for  his  want  of  learning;  yet  great  doctors  of  the  law 
stand  astonished  at  his  wisdom.  Taunted  as  a  mechanic, 
he  rises  above  prejudice ;  strict  in  religion,  he  is  free 
from  bigotry;  he  speaks  of  goodness  of  heart  and  life  rath- 
er than  ceremony,  and  makes  of  pure  morality  the  sub- 
limest  virtue.  A  Jew  by  birth,  the  vast  empire  of  heaven 
and  earth  is  his  country.  He  is  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
yet  to  him  Abraham's  race  is  the  whole  human  family. 
Eighteen  centuries  of  light,  learning  and  civilization  have 
blessed  the  world,  but  no  moral  reformer  can  compare 
with  him.  He  laid  his  hand  on  the  Law,  to  produce  bet- 
ter obedience  ;  and  submitted  to  die,  to  bring  us  all  to  a 


12  CHtJROH    HISTORY. 

higher  life.  He  stood  meekly  on  the  mo  jnt  of  God,  as  a 
celestial  teacher;  and  bowed  calmly  to  suffering,  as  a  lamb 
led  to  the  slaughter.  In  the  full  blaze  of  heavenly  light, 
he  still  stands  unapproached  as  a  moral  teacher.  He  came 
to  establish  the  kingdom  of  heaven  on  earth.  The  great- 
est earthly  blessing  is  good  society,  laws,  and  government. 
The  greatest  curse,  evil  society,  bad  laws  and  oppressive 
governments.  In  the  year  4004,  as  shepherds  were  keep, 
ing  watch  over  their  flock  by  night,  there  appeared  shining 
around  them  a  bright  heavenly  glory,  and  above  them  a 
multitude  of  angels  praising  God,  and  saying, 

"Fear  not:  we  bring  you  good  tidings,  which  shall  bo 
to  all  people  ;  for  unto  you  is  born  this  day  a  Savior,  which 
is  Christ  the  Lord.  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on 
earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men."  And  -'There  camo 
wise  men  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem,  Saying,  Where  is 
he  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews?  for  we  have  seen  his 
star  in  the  east  and  are  come  to  worship  him."  Prophets 
anticipating  the  event  have  written:  '4^'or  unto  us  a  child 
is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given :  and  the  government  shall 
be  upon  his  shoulder :  and  his  name  shall  be  called  Won- 
derful, Counselor,  The  mighty  God,  The  everlasting  Fa- 
ther, The  Prince  of  Peace.  Of  the  increase  of  his  gov- 
ernment and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne 
of  David,  and  upon  his  kingdom,  to  order  it,  and  to  estab- 
lish it  with  judgment  and  with  justice  from  henceforth 
even  for  ever.  The  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  will  perform 
this." 

The  suUime  charaoter  of  ChrisU  and  the  heavenly  na- 
ture of  his  precepts,  if  kept  clear  of  human  dogmas,  will 
ever  attest  the  heavenly  character  of  his  mission. 

A  great  speaker,  once  a  leading  infidel  in  England 
and  the  United  States,  but  now  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
truly  and  beautifully  said  : 

"  The  finest  specimen  of  moral  greatness  on  record,  is 
Jesus  Christ.  There  is  something  in  the  character  of  Christ 
unspeakably  sublime.  There  is  something  in  his  charac- 
ter infinitely  great.  I  can  not  describe  the  feelings  with 
which  I  contemplate  his  life  at  times.  Nor  can  I  describe 
the  reverence  with  which  I  regard  him.  I  feel,  while  I 
look  on  his  character,  that  if  there  be  one  thing   under 


CHARACTER   OF   HIS   RELIGION.  13 

heaven  more  worthy  of  my  wishes  tlian  another,  it  is  to 
share  his  godlike  spirit,  and  to  be  conformed  to  his  glori- 
ous likeness.  Compared  with  the  greatness  which  I  see 
in  Jesus,  all  physical  greatness,  all  mere  intellectual 
greatness,  all  the  splendor  of  talent,  ail  the  stores  of  learn- 
ing, all  the  mighty  achievements,  all  the  wondrous  discov- 
eries of  science,  all  the  improvements  in  art,  look  little 
appear  as  nothing.  Christ  was  not  without  intellectua. 
greatness.  On  the  contrary,  his  intelligence  was  unusual. 
But  his  goodness  is  the  most  striking,  the  most  touching, 
the  most  enchanting,  the  most  transporting.  I  can  not 
imagine  an  object  more  lovely  than  Christ.  I  can  not  con- 
ceive greatness  more  divine  or  glorious  than  his. 

We  have  specimens  of  moral  greatness  in  the  charac- 
ters of  some  of  the  apostles,  and  especially  in  the  Apostle 
PauL  He  gave  up  his  reputation  for  learning;  he  sacri- 
ficed his  Jewish  friends  and  connections ;  he  relinquished 
the  honors  of  his  sect;  he  renounced  whatever  he  had 
prized  of  a  worldly  character,  and  gave  himself  up  to  a 
life  of  hardships,  of  reproach,  of  suffering  and  of  loss,  out 
of  regard  to  the  truth,  and  for  the  welfare  of  mankind. 
His  labors  were  most  abundant.  His  sufferings  were  great 
and  almost  constant,  yet  he  thought  himself  abundantly  re- 
paid for  them,  in  the  good  which  he  was  able  to  do  to  his 
fellow-creatures.  When  he  was  told  on  one  occasion,  that 
bonds  and  imprisonments  awaited  him  in  every  city 
through  which  he  was  likely  to  pass,  he  replied.  'None  of 
these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto 
myself,  so  that  I  may  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  accom- 
plish the  service  to  which  1  have  been  appointed  by  the 
Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  glad  tidings  of  the  goodness  of 
God.'  And  as  he  lived,  he  died.  When  writing  to  a  friend 
near  the  close  of  his  life,  he  says,  'I  have  fought  a  good 
fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith : 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteous- 
ness, which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  to  me, 
and  not  to  me  only,  but  to  all  them  that  love  liis  appear- 
ing.' We  have  other  striking  examples  of  moral  greatness 
in  the  reformers  of  later  ages.  We  see  something  of  it  in 
Wickliffe.  We  see  something  of  it  in  Luther.  We  see  more 
of  it  in  Fox  and  Penn.  We  see  something  of  it  in  Priestley 
and  Channing.  We  see  something  of  it  in  Whitfield,  and 
Wesley,  and  Fletcher.  But  in  none  do  we  behold  so  rich, 
so  full  a  revelation  of  true  greatness,  as  in  Jesus.     And 


14  CHUKCH    HISTORY. 

shall  we  not  labor  to  share  his  greatness  ?  This  is  a  kind 
of  greatness  which  all  can  appreciate.  It  is  a  kind  of 
greatness  which  we  all  admire  in  the  departed.  And  shall 
we  not  seek  to  emulate  this  greatness  ourselves?  The 
greatness  ol  which  we  have  been  speaking  will  endure 
for  ever.  It  will  never  cease  to  be  admired.  It  will  nev- 
er cease  to  be  glorious.  It  will  be  loved  and  honored  as 
long  as  God  himself  shall  live,  or  eternity  endure." 

Jesus  taught  the  poor  with  the  gentleness  of  a  mother, 
and  reproved  the  proud  with  the  authority  of  God.  No 
such  power  on  earth  was  ever  before  known.  No  such 
revivals  of  religion  ever  took  place.  "They  came  to  him 
from  every  quarter,"  "  Jerusalem  and  all  Judea "  were 
baptized  by  John ;  but  Jesus  made  and  baptized  more 
disciples  than  John. 

Among  the  legends  of  ancient  times,  the  following  de- 
scription of  his  personal  appearance  is  preserved. 

"  His  image  or  likeness  is  said  to  have  been  derived 
from  the  collection  of  Pontius  Pilate.  One  is  mentioned 
by  M.  Kaoul  Rochette.  It  is  a  stone,  a  kind  of  tessera, 
with  a  head  of  Christ,  young  and  beardless,  in  profile, 
with  the  word  Kristos  in  Greek  characters.  The  other  is 
a  kind  of  medal,  or  tessera  of  metal,  representing  Christ, 
as  he  is  described  in  an  apochryphal  letter  of  Lentulus. 
It  is  a  head  of  Christ — the  hair  parted  over  the  forehead, 
covering  the  ears,  and  falling  upon  the  shoulders.  The 
shape  islong,  the  beard  short  and  thin.  It  has  the  name 
of  Jesus  in  Hebrew.  The  earliest  pictures  of  Jesus  seem 
formed  on  one  type  or  model ;  they  all  represent  the  oval 
countenance,  slightly  lengthened,  the  grave,  soft,  and  mel- 
ancholy expression,  the  short  thin  beard,  the  hair  parted 
on  tlie  forehead  into  two  long  masses,  which  fall  upon  the 
shoulders."* 

His  speech  was  full  of  unearthly  wisdom,  goodness 
and  grace.  The  concurrent  testimony  of  all  was  that 
"Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  In  a  summary  of  his 
history  it  is  recorded  "That  he  went  about  doing  good." 
The  spirit  of  his  religion  glows  in  celestial  beatitudes. 
"Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.     Blessed  are  they  that  mourn :  for  they  shall 

♦Mil'man's  Church  History,  page  492. 


HE    VIOLATED   NO    LAW.  15 

be  comforted.  Blessed  are  the  meek :  for  they  shall  in- 
herit the  earth.  Blessed  are  they  which  do  hunger  and 
thirst  after  righteousness:  for  they  shall  be  filled.  Blessed 
are  the  merciful :  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy.  Blessed 
are  the  pure  in  heart :  for  they  shall  see  God.  Blessed 
are  the  peacemakers:  for  they  shall  be  called  the  chil- 
dren of  God."  He  elucidated,  explained,  and  enforced  by 
precept  and  example,  all  the  celestial  truths  of  religion, 
insomuch  that  his  lessons  and  examples  are  equally  supe- 
rior, and  no  man  can  compare  with  him  as  a  teacher. 
Even  his  enemies,  while  they  deny  his  person,  refusing  to 
recognize  his  authority,  borrow  their  ideas  of  religious 
truth  from  the  type  of  his  life. 

He  violate'd  no  law  of  the  Hebrews,  but  illustrated 
and  adorned  every  precept  of  God's  ancient  religion,  yet 
in  the  mistaken  zeal  and  religious  phrensy  of  adherence 
to  human  tradition,  they  procured  the  death  of  the  only 
teacher  who  ever  fulfilled  their  law,  or  could  confer  upon 
them  immortality.  He  voluntarily  departed  from  this 
world,  by  a  death  frequently  foretold  by  himself,  in  the 
33d  year  of  his  life  on  earth.  He  was  crucified,  praying 
for  his  enemies,  and  with  his  latest  agonizing  breath  par- 
doning a  penitent.  Notwithstanding  his  enemies  careful- 
ly guarded  the  sepulcher  where  he  was  buried,  he  rose 
from  the  dead  the  third  morning  after  his  death ;  and,  after 
forty  days,  ascended  to  heaven  from  Mount  Olivet.  His 
disciples  now  became  missionaries  of  his  religion ;  not  by 
denying,  but  even  glorying  in  his  shameful  death ;  willing- 
ly following  him  to  the  grave,  in  hope  of  the  brighter  life. 

Two  views  are  presented  of  our  Savior  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. He  appears  first  as  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquaint- 
ed with  grief:  his  garments  stained  with  the  bloody  sweat 
of  Gethsemane,  and  the  soil  of  the  garden  upon  his  vest- 
ure. His  hands  are  bound  with  a  cord,  and  upon  his  brow 
is  a  crown  of  thorns.  His  vesture  is  removed  to  the  girdle, 
and  his  back  is  covered  with  blood,  and  has  the  scourge's 
deep   furrows   upon  it.      He   stands    bound    before    the 


16  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

judgment  seat  of  men,  who  incite  the  bystanders  to  abuse 
him.  Servants  and  soldiers  frequently  strike  him  on  the 
face,  swollen,  black,  and  bleeding  with  their  blows ;  and 
spit  upon  him.  He  is  charged  with  blasphemy  by  many 
blasphemers,  but  he  opens  not  his  mouth  to  complain. 
They  condemn  him  to  die  on  the  cross,  but  he  answers 
nothing.  They  compel  him  to  bear  the  cross  on  his  bleed- 
ing back,  but  he  complains  not.  His  hands  and  feet  are 
nailed  to  the  rugged  timbers  of  a  rude  cross,  but  like  a 
lamb  led  to  the  slaughter,  or  a  sheep  before  her  shearers 
dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth.  His  visage  is  more 
marred  than  any  man,  and  his  form  more  than  the  sons  of 
men.  As  a  root  out  of  dry  ground  he  has  no  form  or 
comeliness,  and  when  they  see  him  there  is  no  beauty 
that  they  should  desire  him.  He  is  despised  and  re- 
jected of  men.  They  cry  crucify  him,  crucify  him,  and 
hide  their  faces  from  him,  and  esteem  him  stricken,  smit- 
ten of  God,  and  afflicted.  They  give  him  gall  when  he 
is  thirsty,  and  mock  him  when  he  pours  out  his  soul 
unto  death.  The  soldier  plunges  a  spear  far  up  into  his 
side;  but  the  lifeless,  form  has  ceased  to  suffer.  The 
marks  of  his  agony  are  upon  him ;  but  the  head  hangs 
down  upon  the  breast ;  for  the  Son  of  God  is  dead.  ,He 
passed  the  bars  of  death  and  appeared  in  glory  saying : 
"I  am  he  that  liveth,  and  was  dead;  and  behold,  I  am 
alive  for  evermore.  Amen  ;  and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and 
of  death.  He  was  clothed  with  a  garment  down  to  the 
foot,  and  girt  about  the  paps  with  a  golden  girdle.  His 
head  and  his  hairs  were  white  like  wool,  as  white  as 
snow  ;  and  his  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire  ;  and  his  feet 
like  unto  tine  brass,  as  if  they  burned  in  a  furnace  ;  and 
his  voice  as  the  sound  of  many  waters.  And  he  had  in 
his  right  hand  seven  stars :  and  out  of  his  mouth  went  a 
sharp  two-edged  sword  :  and  his  countenance  was  as  the 
sun  shineth  in  his  strength.  And  when  I  saw  him,  I  fell 
at  his  feet  as  dead.  And  he  laid  his  right  hand  upon  me. 
saying  unto  me,  Fear  not ;   I  am  the  first  and  the  last" 


THE   DIVINE   TESTIMONY.  17 

Upon  his  head  were  many  crowns,  and  upon  his  thigh  the 
name  written  KING  of  kings  and  LORD  of  lords.  He  held 
in  his  right  hand  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  he  stood  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne  of  God,  upon  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father.  And  the  angels  round  about  the  throne,  and  the 
four  and  twenty  elders,  and  the  one  hundred  and  forty- 
four  thousand,  and  a  great  multitude  which  no  man  can 
number,  even  every  crealure,  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
saying,  glory,  and  honor,  and  thanksgiving,  and  riches, 
and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  dominion,  be  unto  Him 
that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  for  ever 
and  ever.  Then  I  saw  the  prints  of  the  nails  were  still  in 
his  hands ;  and  they  sang  unto  him  that  redeemed  us  by 
his  blood,  out  of  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people  ;  and  they  cast  their  crowns  down  before  him 
and  worshiped  God,  and  the  Lamb  that  was  slain.  Who 
is  this  glorious  person  so  condemned  on  earth ;  yet  so 
honored  in  heaven  ?  There  has  always  been  a  Church, 
and  a  people  in  the  world,  who  were  willing  in  answer- 
ing this  question,  to  abide  strictly  by  the  word  of  God. 
1  belong  to  that  people  and  therefore  present  the  divine 
testimony  in  the  order  in  which  it  is  given,  as  follows: 

Testimony  of  Jolm^  the  Witness  of  the  Messiah, 
"There  was  a  man  sent  from  God,  whose  name  was 
John,  The  same  came  for  a  witness,  to  bear  witness  of 
the  light,  that  all  men  through  him  might  believe.  And 
I  saw,  and  bare  record  that  this  is  the  Son  of  God."  John 
1:  6-34. 

Testimooiy  of  God  the  Father^  to  the  Messiah  at  his 
Baptism.  "Jesus,  when  he  was  baptized,  went  up  straight- 
way out  of  the  water:  and,  lo,  the  heavens  were  opened 
unto  him,  and  he  saw  the  Spirit  of  God  descending  like  a 
dove,  and  lighting  upon  him.  And  lo  a  voice  from  heaven 
saying.  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased." 
Matt.  3  :  16. 

Testimony  of  the  Father  at  the    Transfiguration    of 

Jesus.     "His  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  his   raiment 

was   white   as   the   light.     A  bright  cloud  overshadowed 

them;  and  beliold  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud,  which  said,. 

2 


/ 


18  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  wiioml  am  well  pleased;  i  o-ar 
ye  him."    Matt.  IT:  2-5. 

Jesus  refers  to  the  Father'' s  icords  to  confirm  the  dis- 
ciples in  the  faith:  "Whom  say  ye  that  I  am?  And 
Simon  Peter  answered  and  said,  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God.  And  Jesus  answered  and  said 
unto  him,  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-jona  :  Tor  flesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  n)y  Father 
which  is  in  heas^en."   Matt.  16  :  16. 

The  three  heavenly  Witnesses  testify:  "If  we  receive 
the  witness  of  men,  the  witness  of  God  is  greater :  ibr 
this  is  the  witness  of  God  which  he  hath  testified  of  his 
Son.  He  that  believeth  on  tlie  ^on  of  God  hath  the  wit- 
ness in  himself:  he  that  believeth  noi  God  hath  made 
him  a  liar;  because  he  believeth  not  the  record  tliat  God 
gave  of  his  Son.  And  this  is  the  record  that  God  hath 
given  to  us  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son.  He 
that  hath  the  Son  hath  life;  and  he  that  hatli  not  the 
Son  of  God  hath  not  life.  These  things  have  I  written 
unto  you  that  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God; 
that  ye  may  know  that  ye  have  eternal  life,  and  that  ye 
mav  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God.  1  John  5  : 
S-13. 

The  words  of  Jesus^  an  end  of  controversy. 
Matt.  11  27  "No  man  knoweth  the    Son,    but   the   Fa- 
ther;   neither  knoweth  any  man  the  Fa- 
ther, save  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever 
the  Son  will  reveal  him." 
John  10  36  "I  am  the  Son  of  God." 

"      3    13    "  No  man  hath  ascended  up  to  heaven,  but 
he  that  came  down  from  heaven,  even  the 
Son  of  man  which  is  in  heaven." 
"       6  33    "The  bread  of  God  is  he    wl)ich    cometh 
down  iroui  heaven,  and  giveth  life  unto 
the  world. 
"       "  38    "  I  came    down   from    heaven,    not    to    do 
mine  own  will,  but  the    will   of    him    that 
sent  me.     And    this   is   the   Father's   will 
which  hath  sent  me." 
**       7  28    "lam  not  come   of  myself,  but  he   that 
sent  me  is  true,  whom  ye  know  not.     But 
I  know  him ;  for  I  am   from   him,  and   he 
hath  sent  me. 
"       8  23    "  Ye  are  from  beneath  ;  1  Am  from  above  : 


god's  word  always  his  people's  guide.  19 

ye  are  of   this  world ;  I  am  not  of   this 
world." 
«      9  35    "Dost  thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God? 
He  answered  and  said,   Who  is  he,  Lord, 
that  I  might  believe  on  him  ?     And  Jesus 
said  unto  him,  Then  hast  both  seen  him, 
and  it  is  he  that  talketh  with  thee.     And 
he  said,   Lord,   I   believe.     And  he   wor- 
shiped him. 
«       10  29  ''  My  Father  is  greater  than  all 
«        "    30  "I  and  my  Father  are  one:' 
«       14  28  "My  Fatlier  is  greater  than  L" 
"       20  17  "I  ascend  unto   my  Father  and  your  Fa- 
ther, and  to  my  God  and  jonv  God." 
This  testimony  is  full,  and  an  end  of  controversy. 

god's   word  always  his  peope's  guide. 

In  the  beginning  was  the  Word.  The  Word  was  then 
with  God,  and  God  was  the  Word;  and  that  Word  was 
the  guide  of  God's  people.  When  the  law  was  first  given, 
"Moses  took  the  book  of  the  covenant,  and  read  it  in  the 
audience  of  the  people."  Exod.  24 :  7.  Aiter  their  return 
from  captivity,  "  All  the  people  gathered  themselves  to- 
gether," "and  they  spake  to  Ezra  the  scribe  to  bring  the 
book  of  the  law  of  Moses,  which  the  Lord  had  commanded 
to  Israel,  and  he  brought  the  law  before  the  congregation, 
both  of  men  and  women,  and  all  that  could  hear,"  ''and 
read  therein  from  morning  till  midday,  and  the  ears  of  all 
the  people  were  attentive,"  "  and  all  the  people  wept 
when  they  heard  the  law."     Neh.  8  :  1. 

Jesus  constantly  appealed  to  the  common  people,  as 
to  those  well  acquainted  with  the  word  of  God.     He  said : 

"  Have  ye  not  read  what  David  did?"  Matt.  12  :  3. 

"Have  ye  not  read  that  he  which  made  ?"   Matt.  19  :  4. 

"Have  ye  never  read,  out  of  the  mouths  of  babes?" 

"  Did  ye  never  read  that  which  was  spoken  ?"  Matt. 

"Did  ye  never  read  in  the  Scriptures,  The  stone  ?"  etc. 

"  Then  the  disciples  remembered  that  it  was  written." 

"They  remembered  that  these  things  were  written." 

The  following  sentences,  from  the  apostles,  prove  the 
universal  prevalence  of  the  word  of  God. 


20  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

"  The  prophets  which  are  read  every  Sabbath  day." 

"Moses,"  "being  read  in  the  Synagogue  every  Sabbath 
day."  Acts  15  :  21. 

" On  the  Sabbath  day,"  "after  the  reading."  Acts  13 :  15. 

"Tlie  next  Sabbath  came  almost  the  whole  city  to- 
gether, to  hear  the  word  of  God."  Acts  13  :  44. 

"These  of  Berea  were  more  noble  than  those  of  Thes- 
salonica,  in  that  they  received  the  word,  with  all  readiness 
of  mind,  and  searched  the  Scriptures  daily,  whether  these 
things  were  so."     Acts  17:  11. 

"  Preach  the  Word."     2  Tim.  4  :  2. 

"  If  any  man  speak,  "  said  they,  "let  him  speak  as  the 
oracles  of  God."    1  Pet.  4 :  11. 

"To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony;  if  they  speak  not 
according  to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in 
them."     Isa.  8  :  20. 

"  It  was  not  written  for  Abraham's  sake  alone,  but  for 
us  also."     Rom.  4 :  24. 

"  For  whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime,  were 
written  for  our  learning^  that  we  through  patience,  and 
comfort  of  the  Scriptures,  might  have  hope."     Rom.  15  :  4. 

"  Whereby  when  ye  read,  ye  may  understand."  Eph. 

"Thus  they  were  taught  and  believed  the  Scriptures." 

Being  taught  that  they  had  this  "  more  sure  word  of 
prophecy."     2  Peter  1 :  19. 

"  No  prophecy  of  the  Scripture  is  of  any  private  inter- 
pretation."    2  Pet.  1  :  20. 

"But  is  made  known  unto  all  nations  for  the  obedi- 
ence of  faith."    Rom.  16  :  22^ 

"And  that  from  a  child  thou  hast  known  the  holy  scrip- 
tures, which  are  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto  salvation 
through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  All  scripture  is 
given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine, 
for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness  ; 
That  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished 
unto  all  good  works."     2  Tim.  3  :  15. 

These  texts,  without  note  or  comment,  show  plainly  in 


PROPHECIES    OF    THE    MESSIAH.  21 

what  light  the  Scriptures  were  regarded  by  the  people  of 
God  before  the  great  apostasy. 

C/'vist  in  prophecy.  The  Scriptures  foretell  the  com- 
ing of  Christ  with  wonderful  accuracy.  Beyond  the  dis- 
tant shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  amid  the  far  off  hills  of 
Sinai,  Israel's  i)rophet  said:  "A  Prophet  shall  the  Lord 
your  God  raise  up  unto  you,  of  your  brethren,  like  unlo 
me ;  him  shall  ye  hear  in  all  things,  whatsoever  he  shall 
say  unto  you."  In  times  more  remote, from  the  shepherd- 
cottage  of  Egypt,  the  dying  patriarch  said,  "The  scepter 
shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  be- 
tween his  feet,  till  the  Shiloh  come,  and  to  him  shall  the 
gathering  of  the  people  be."  God  said,  "  I  will  make  him 
my  first-born,  higher  than  the  kings  of  the  earth.  I  have 
set  my  king  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion.  I  will  declare  the 
decree.  Thou  art  my  Son  ;  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee. 
Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  in- 
heritance, and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy 
possession."  A  king  shall  reign  and  prosper,  and  this  is 
the  name  whereby  he  shall  be  called,  "  The  Lord  our 
righteousness.-'  Out  of  thee  (Bethlehem)  shall  come  a 
governor  that  shall  rule  my  people  Israel.  "  And  there  was 
given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all 
people,  nations,  and  languages,  should  serve  him:  his  do- 
minion is  an  everlasting  dominion." 

Prophecy  named  the  Messiah  as  the  desire  of  all  na- 
tions. 

1.  Prophecy  respecting  the  time.  "  From  the  going 
forth  of  the  command  to  restore  and  to  build  Jerusalem 
unto  the  Messiah  the  Prince  shall  be  seven  weeks,  and 
threescore  and  two  weeks.  And  after  threescore  and  two 
weeks  shall  Messiah  be  cut  ofl",  but  not  for  himself:  and 
the  people  of  the  prince  that  shall  come  shall  destroy  the 
city  and  the  sanctuary."     Dan.  9:  24—27. 

Fulfilled.  They  said,  "We  have  found  the  Messias : 
which  is,  being  interpreted,  the  Christ.  I  know  that  Mes- 
sias Cometh,  which  is  called  Christ :  when  he  is  come  he 
will  tell  us  all  things.  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  I  that  speak 
unto  thee  am  he."     John  1 :  41 ;  4  :  25. 


22  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

2.  PropJiecy  of  wJiat  he  toas  to  he.  "  He  was  called 
the  desire  of  all  nations."     Haggai  2:  7. 

Fulfilled.  "I  bring  you  tidings  of  great  joy,  wliich 
shall  be  to  all  people."     Luke  2  :  10. 

3.  Prophecy  of  where  he  was  to  he  horn.  "  But  thou, 
Bethlehem  Ephratah,  though  thou  be  little  among  the 
thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  he  come  forth 
unto  me  that  is  to  be  Ruler  in  Israel  ;  whose  goings  forth 
have  been  from  of  old,  from  everlasting."     Micah  5  :  2. 

Fulfilled.  "Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of 
Judea  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold  there  came 
wise  men  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem,  Saying,  where  is  he 
that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  ?  for  Ave  have  seen  his  star 
in  the  east,  and  are  come  to  worship  him."     Matt.  2  :  1-8. 

4  Prophecy  of  whom  he  was  to  he  horn.  "Behold  a 
virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his 
name  Immanuel.     Isa.  17  :   14. 

Fulfilled.  "To  a  virgin  espoused  to  a  man  whose  name 
was  Joseph,  of  the  house  of  David  ;  and  the  virgin's  name 
was  Mary.  And  the  angel  came  in  unto  her,  and  said.  Hail, 
thou  that  art  highly  favored,  the  Lord  is  with  thee :  bless- 
ed art  thou  among  women.  Thou  shalt  bring  forth  a  son, 
and  shalt  call  his  name  JESUS.  He  shall  be  great,  and 
shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the  Highest.     Luke  2  :  27^2. 

5.  Prophecy  of  his  miracles.  "  Then  the  eyes  of  the 
blind  shall  be  opened,  and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be 
unstopped.  Then  shall  the  lame  man  leap  as  an  hart,  and 
the  tongue  of  the  du:nb  sing."     Isa.  35  :  5,  6. 

FaJfilled.  "Now  when  John  had  heard  in  the  prison 
the  works  of  Christ,  he  sent  two  of  his  disciples.  And  said 
unto  him.  Art  thou  he  that  should  come,  or  do  we  look  for 
another?  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them.  Go  and 
show  John  again  those  things  whicli  ye  do  hear  and  see: 
The  blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk,  the  lep- 
ers are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised 
up,  and  the  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them."  Matt. 

6.  Prophecy  of  his  entry  into  Jerusalem.  "Rejoice 
greatly,  O  daughter  of  Zion ;  shout,  O  daughter  of  Jerusa- 
lem ;  behold  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee:  he  is  just,  and 
having  salvation  ;  lowly,  and  riding  upon  an  ass,  and  upon 
a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass."     Zech.  9  :  9. 

Fulfilled.  "And  the  multitudes  that  went  before,  and 
that  followed,  cried,  saying,  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David : 
Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord :  Ho- 


PROPHECIES    OF    THE    MESSIAH.  23 

eanna  in  the  highest.     And  when  he  was  come  into  Jeru- 
salem, all  the  city  was  moved,  saying,  Who  is  this  ?"   Matt. 

7.  Pro])liecy  of  his  svfftrings.  "For  he  shall  grow  up 
before  him  as  a  tender  plant,  and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry 
ground :  he  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness ;  and  when  we 
shall  see  him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire 
him.  He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men;  a  man  of  sor- 
rows, and  acquainted  with  grief :  and  we  hid  as  it  were 
our  faces  from  him  ;  he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed 
liim  not.  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our 
sorrows  :  yet  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God, 
and  afflicted."  "  1  gave  my  back  to  the  smiters,  and  my 
cheeks  to  them  that  plucked  off  my  hair ;  I  hid  not  my 
face  from  shame  and  spitting."     Isa.  53:  2-4  ;  50:  6. 

Fulfilled.  "  And  they  stripped  him,  and  put  on  him  a 
scarlet  robe.  And  when  they  had  plaited  a  crown  of 
thorns,  they  put  it  upon  his  head,  and  a  reed  in  his  right 
hand:  and  they  bowed  the  knee  before  him,  and  mocked 
him,  saying,  Hail,  King  of  the  Jews !  And  they  spit  upon 
him,  and  took  the  reed,  and  smote  him  on  the  head.  And 
after  that  they  had  mocked  him,  they  took  the  robe  off 
from  him,  and  put  his  own  raiment  on  him,  and  led  him 
away  to  crucify  him."     Matt.  27  :  28-31. 

8.  PfO'phecy  of  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  "  And  I 
said  unto  them,  if  ye  think  good,  give  me  my  price ;  and 
if  not,  forbear.  So  they  weighed  for  my  price  thirty  j)ieces 
of  silver.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  me.  Cast  it  unto  the 
potter:  a  goodly  price  that  I  was  prized  at  of  them.  And 
I  took  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  and  cast  them  to  the 
potter  in  the  house  of  the  Lord."     Zech.  11 :  12. 

Fulfilled.  "•  Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  was  spoken 
by  Jeremy  the  prophet^  saying,  And  they  took  the  thirty 
pieces  of  silver,  the  price  of  him  that  was  valued."  Matt. 
27  :  9.  It  is  supposed  that  the  prophecy  of  Jeremiah  is 
lost,  which  contained  this,  as  well  as  that  of  Zechariah. 

9.  Prophecy  of  his  suffering  and  death.  "From  the 
going  forth  of  the  commandment  to  restore  and  to  build 
Jerusalem,  unto  the  Messiah  the  Prince,  shall  be  seven 
weeks,  and  threescore  and  two  weeks :  the  street  shall  be 
built  again,  and  the  wall,  even  in  troublous  times.  And 
after  threescore  and  two  weeks  shall  Messiah  be  cut  off, 
but  not  for  himself :  and  the  people  of  the  prince  that 
shall  come  shall  destroy  the  city  and  the  sanctuary ;  and 
the  end  thereof  shall  be  with  a  flood,  and  unto  the  end  of 


24  CHUKCH   HISTORY. 

the  war  desolations  are  determined.  And  he  shall  con- 
firm the  covenant  with  many  for  one  week :  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  week  he  shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  the  ob- 
lation to  cease,  and  for  the  overspreading  of  abominations, 
he  shall  make  itdesoUite,  even  until  the  consummation,  and 
that  determined  shall  be  poured  upon  the  desolate."  Dan. 
9  :  27.  "  He  hath  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death:  and  he 
was  numbered  with  the  transgressors ;  and  he  bare  the 
sin  of  many,  and  made  intercession  for  the  transgressors." 

Fulfilled.  "  When  ye  therefore  shall  see  the  abomina- 
tion of  desolation,  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  stand 
in  the  holy  j)lace,  (whoso  readeth,  let  him  understand.") 
"Then  were  there  two  thieves  crucified  with  him;  one  on 
the  right  hand,  and  another  on  the  left."  Matt.  24 :  15;  27 :  38. 

10.  Prophecy  of  his  hurial.  "And  he  made  his  grave 
with  the  wicked,  and  with  the  rich  in  his  death ;  because 
he  liad  done  no  violence,  neither  was  any  deceit  in  his 
mouth."     Isa.  53 :  9. 

Fulfilled.  "There  came  a  rich  man  of  Arimathea,  named 
Joseph,  who  also  himself  was  Jesus' disciple :  He  went 
to  Pilate,  and  begged  the  body  of  Jesus.  Then  PiLate 
commanded  the  body  to  be  delivered.  And  when  Joseph 
had  taken  the  body,  he  wrapped  it  in  a  clean  linen  cloth, 
and  laid  it  in  his  own  new  tomb.'     Matt.  27:  58. 

11.  Prophecy  of  his  resurrection.  "Therefore  my  heart 
is  glad,  and  my  glory  rejoiceth  :  my  flesh  also  shall  rest  in 
hope.  For  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell  ;  neither 
wilt  thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption."  Ps.  16  :  9. 

"Thou  hast  ascended  on  high,  thou  hast  led  captivity 
captive:  thou  hast  received  gifts  for  men."     Ps.  68  :  18. 

Fulfilled.  "He  is  not  here  :  for  he  is  risen,  as  he  said; 
Come,  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay."      Matt.  28 :  6. 

"  This  Jesus  hath  God  raised  up,  whereof  we  all  are 
witnesses.  Therefore  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  ex- 
alted, und  having  received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  he  hath  shed  forth  this,  which  ye  now  see  and 
hear."     Acts  2:  32. 

Malachi  was  the  last  Old  Testament  prophet.  Then 
for  four  hundred  years  there  was  no  prophet.  At  the  end 
of  the  four  hundred  years  the  New  Testament  opens  in  the 
same  spirit,  almost  the  same  words,  and  precisely  the 
same  doctrine. 


THE    PROPHESIES   FULFILLED.  25 

12.  PropJiecy.  "  The  Yoice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the 
wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make 
straight  in  tlie  desert  a  highway  foronr  God.  Every  valley 
shall  be  exalted,  and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be 
made  low:  and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight,  and  the 
rough  places  plain."     Isa.  40  :  3. 

Fulfilled.  "The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths  straight. 
Li  those  days  came  John  the  Baptist,  preaching  in  the 
wilderness  of  Judea,  And  saying,  Kepent  ye:  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."     Matt.  3  :  1-3. 

13.'  '•'•  Profile cy.  Behold,  the  day  cometh,  that  shall  burn 
as  an  oven ;  and  all  the  proud,  yea,  and  all  that  do  wicked- 
ly, shall  be  stubble:  and  the  day  that  cometh  shall  burn 
them  up,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  that  it  shall  leave  them 
neither  root  nor  branch.  But  unto  you  that  fear  my  name 
shall  the  Sun  of  righteousness  arise  w4th  healing  in  his 
wings;  and  ye  shall  go  forth,  and  grow  up  as  calves  of  the 
stall  Behold,  I  will  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet  before 
the  coming  of  the  great  and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord:  And 
he  shall  turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  children,  and 
the  heart  of  the  children  to  their  fathers,  lest  I  come  and 
smite  the  earth  with  a  curse."     Mai.  4:  1-6. 

Fulfilled.  "  And  now  also  the  ax  is  laid  unto  the  root 
of  the  trees :  therefore  every  tree  which  bringeth  not 
forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down,  and  cast  into  the  tire.  He 
shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  fire. 
Whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  will  thoroughly  purge 
his  floor,  and  gather  his  wheat  into  the  garner;  but  he  will 
burn  up  the  chaff  with  unquenchable  fire."     Matt.  3:  3, 12. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  important  prophecies 
which  are  all  fulfilled  in  Christ,  most  unmistakably  point- 
ing him  out  as  the  true  Messiah. 

Other  prophecies  running  over  into  modern  times  are 
no  less  remarkable. 

14.  Dan.  9 :  24.  Christ  is  to  bring  in  everlasting  right- 
eousness. Eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-seven  years  have 
passed  and  no  sane  person  pretends  to  any  possible  im- 
provement of  the  ethics  of  the  New  Testament.  Christ's 
own  righteousness  is  the  eternal  hope  of  his  people. 

15.  Dan.  9:  27.    The    Messiah  was  to  cause  the  obla 


26  CHUECH   HISTORY. 

tion  to  cease,  and  make  it  (the  temple)  desolate.  Christ 
put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  and  thus  caused 
the  oblation  to  cease,  and  made  the  temple  desolate. 
Matt,  23 :  38.  And  since  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  no 
sacrifices  are  offered  by  the  Jewish  people. 

16.  Christ  foretold  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  with 
great  minuteness.  See  Matt.  24.  And  told  them  that 
some  who  heard  would  live  to  see  it.  All  of  which  was 
minutely  fulfilled  in  forty  years;  John  living  to  see  it. 

17.  Christ  foretold  his  own  death,  with  the  time,  and 
all  the  particulars,  as  they  were  fulfilled. 

18.  The  apostles  foretold  the  great  apostasy  or  "falling 
away ''from  the  faith;  all  of  which  is  remarkably  fulfilled; 
as  manifest  in  the  divided  and  apostate  state  of  the  creed 
churches, 

19.  Israel  was  to  be  many  days  without  a  king,  and 
without  a  prince,  and  without  a  sacrifice,  and  without  an 
image,  and  without  an  ephod,  and  without  teraphim ;  and 
to  be  scattered  among  all  nations.  Everywhere,  in  city 
and  country,  we  meet  these  living  witnesses. 

INTERNAL    EVIDENCE    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

20.  The  internal  evidence  rests,  FirsU  m  the  rational 
character  of  its  precepts.  The  incoming  light,  of  the  ad- 
vancing ages  of  higher  civilization, only  gives  brighter  lus- 
ter to  the  Christian  precepts.  Like  the  distant  fixed  stars, 
they  do  not  change  their  relative  -position.  The  pre- 
cepts of  the  philosophers  of  the  classic  ages,  the  law 
codes  of  Lycurgus  or  Solon,  the  twelve  tables  of  Rome, 
or  the  Magna  Charta  of  England,  pale  and  retire  ,  and  the 
creeds  not  only  of  the  dark  ages,  but  of  the  days  of  ref- 
ormation, ire  a  reproach  ;  and  the  boast  of  intelligent  men 
is  that  they  do  not  regard  them.  The  Decalogue  is  the 
only  code  of  laws  coming  down  from  a  remote  antiquity, 
which  commands  respect.  This  is  the  constitution  of 
the  civilized  world  in  questions  of  right  and  wrong  in 
morals.  The  uniform  beauty,  purity,  and  perfection  of  the 
precepts  of  Jesus,  as  illustrated   in   the   Sermon   on  the 


JEHOVAH.  27 

Mount ;  the  Golden  Rule ;  the  Beatitudes ;  the  Lord's 
Prayer;  and  his  uniform  teaching,  form  standing  miracles 
giving  power  and  divine  sanction  to  all  his  words ;  and 
have  often  brought  the  inlidel  to  his  knees  in  adoration, 
who  had  advanced  as  an  aggressor. 

21.  Second.  The  celestial  doctrine,  grand  beyond  com- 
parison, and  devotional  beyond  conception,  commends  the 
Scrii)tures  to  all  well  disposed  people. 

Jehovah. 
The  God  of  the  Bible  is  one  supreme,  spiritual  intelli- 
gence, self-existent,  unequaled  in  majesty,  unrivaled  in 
glory,  the  Creator  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  the  Giver 
of  every  good  and  perfect  gift,  glorious  in  holiness,  fearful 
in  praises,  infinitely  exalted  above  all  creatures  in  every 
possible  perfection  ;  giving  to  all  life  and  breath,  and  all 
things  ;  immortal,  invisible,  immutable,  eternal,  forever 
God;  ever  supreme;  ever  good  ;  ever  holy;  ever  just; 
ever  true;  ever  One  ;  only  potentate  ;  GOD  of  Gods;  and 
LORD  of  Lords;  the  great  Father  of  heaven  ;  who  so 
loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life.  Such  are  the  glorious  views  of  God  pre- 
sented in  the  Bible. 

22.  A  most  important  proof  of  the  divine  nature  of 
the  sacred  writings  is  in  their  power.  "The  Law  of  the 
Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul."  The  gospel  is 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  The  word  of  the 
Lord  does  not  return  unto  him  void ;  but  performs  that 
whereunto  it  is  sent.  It  changes  the  barren  desert  to  a 
fruitful  field;  and  it  is  as  pools  of  water  to  the  thirsty 
ground.  Untold  millions  are  yearly  converted  from  sin, 
from  evil  ways,  from  paths  of  destruction  from  useless 
lives  and  restored  to  usefulness  .  Fathers  are  redeemed 
and  restored  to  their  families,  sons  to  their  parents ; 
souls  are  saved;  the  lost  are  found;  society  is  exalted,  and 
many  hearts  are  made  to  rejoice;  because  men  are  turned 


28  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

from    darkness  unto  liglit^  and  from  the  power   of    sin 
and  Satan  unto  God. 

23.  Also  t.he  promises  of  the  Scriptures  are  proof  of 
their  divinit^^  All  that  is  conceivable  of  grace,  or  glory, 
of  life  and  immortality,  appears  in  the  word  of  God. 

24.  The  tangible  facts  of  the  New  Testament:  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  etc.,  are  such  as  could  not  be  mis- 
taken, and  the  character  of  the  witnesses  are  such  that 
we  can  not  deny  their  word.  Because  they  knew  Jesus, 
and  had  seen  his  power,  and  had  seen  and  handled  him 
after  his  resurrection,  therefore  they,  men  of  faith,  hope, 
love,  self-denial,  and  purity,  were  willing  to  give  up  all 
and  die  to  be  with  him  who  made  known  to  them  a  resur- 
rection and  an  endless  life. 

25.  The  fulfillment  of  the  predictions  of  Christ  and  the 
apostles,  concerning  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
calamities  of  the  Jews  are  so  plain,  that  some  skeptics 
hard  pressed,  have  asserted  that  the  Gospels  and  some  of 
Paul's  Epistles  were  written  after  that  event  had  tran- 
spired. We  offer  the  following  in  reply:  John  speaks  of 
Bethesda's  porches  as  still  standing.  The  books  of  the 
New  Testament  close  from  four  to  ten  years  before  the  des- 
truction of  Jerusalem,  A.  1).  70,  leaving  Paul  a  prisoner 
at  Rome,  and  his  fate  unknown.  Had  the  "Gospels," 
"Acts,''  or  "Epistles"  been  written  subsequent  to  this 
date,  they  would  have  noticed  so  important  an  event.  John 
in  like  manner  is  left  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  while  any 
later  writer  would  have  gladly  given  us  the  termination 
of  his  fate.  The  whole  plot  of  the  gospel  narrative  is  so 
interwoven  with  the  history  of  the  times,  as  to  challenge 
universal  respect  for  the  testimony. 

THE    MOTHER    CHURCH. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven,  commonly  called  the  church, 
consists  of  the  Lord's  people  everywhere,  or  of  any  par- 
ticular  congregation.      Persons  become  members  of  the 


THE    MOTHER    CHURCH.  29 

General  Assembly,  or  church  of  the  first-born,  by  a  new 
birth,  the  starting  of  a  new  life,  a  spiritual  life ;  with  new 
desires,  new  aims,  new  hopes.  This  birth  is  not  of  blood, 
or  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God.  John  1 :  13.  There- 
fore no  man  can  exclude  others  from  the  church,  nor,  in- 
deed, can  men  make  others  members.  Christ  said,  "  Up- 
on this  rock  will  I  build  my  church,"  and  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  apostolic  ministry,  "  the  Lord  added 
daily  to  the  church:"  He  "cuts  off;"  He  "cast  away;"  He 
grafted  in  again."  (Rom.  11  :  19-23.)  "  By(ev  en)  in  one 
spirit  they  were  all  baptized  into  one  body."  There  is  no  in- 
stance recorded  in  the  New  Testament  where  men  invited 
persons  to  join  the  church  ;  or  where  persons  proposed 
to  unite  with  the  church  ;  or  where  the  church  door  waj> 
opened  by  men  ;  or  where  any  one  was  voted  into  the 
church  ;  or  baptized  by  men  into  the  church.  Yet  Christ 
had  a  church,  "his  eidcXriaia'''  (el'l'lesia)^  his  congvegaiion^ 
his  ''little  flock,"  his  "disciples,"  his  "  chosen"  ones,  who 
were  baptized  believers,  preaching,  and  communing;  and  it 
was  to  this  church  that  the  Lord  added  such  as  should  be 
saved.  Acts  2:  47.  Christ's  first  mission  was  to  his  ovrn 
people,  "Israelites;  to  whom  pertained  the  adoption,  and 
the  glory,  and  the  covenants,  and  the  giving  of  the  law, 
and  the  service  of  God,  and  the  promises."  Rom.  9 :  4. 
They  were  the  people,  and  they  alone,  to  whom  these  words 
apply ;  "  Whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  predestinate 
to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  the  Son,  t'.iat  he  might 
be  the  first-born  among  many  brethren.  Moreover,  whom 
he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called:  and  whom  he 
called,  them  he  also  justified  :  and  whom  he  justified,  them 
he  also  glorified."  Rom.  8:  29.  God  foreknew,  or  first  knew 
them  as  his  people,  and  jpredestinated  t/iejn  to  be  convert- 
ed, and  called  them  by  his  Son ;  and  as  many  as  received 
him,  he  justified  by  raising  his  Son  from  the  dead;  and 
glorified  them,  first  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  by  pouring 
out  his  Holy  Spirit  upon  them,  and  endowing  them  with 
divine  power.     In  local  congregations  men   were  received 


30  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

by  the  voice  of  the  brethren,  and  receiving  the  "right 
hand  of  fellowship.''  The  first  Christians  were  all  Jews. 
While  Greece  and  Home,  and  England  and  Germany,  were 
all  lying  in  the  darkness  of  heathenism,  the  Jews  heard  the 
gospel,  repented,  believed,  and  obeyed  its  precepts.  "The 
word  which  God  sent  unto  the  children  of  Israel  began, 
from  Galilee,  after  the  baptism  which  John  preached." 
After  his  resurrection,  he  commanded,  "That  repentance 
and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  beginning  at  Jerusalem."  The  first  church 
was  at  Jerusalem,  and  from  Jerusalem  we  must  look  for 
the  true  gospel.  Eusebius  says,  "It  can  not  be  conceived 
within  how  short  a  period  the  Christian  doctrine,  under 
the  glorious  conduct  of  its  Author,  diffused  itself  over  the 
face    of  the  earth,  by  the  mouths  of  his  evangelists  and 

apostles."     ii.  56. 

Reeves  the  Roman  Catholic  says:  "From  Jerusalem 
"the  Christian  Church  first  began,  for  there  Christ  our 
"Lord  preached  the  word  of  eternal  life;  there  he  suffered; 
"  there,  by  his  death  upon  the  cross,  he  consummated  the 
"work  of  our  redemption.  Being  desirous  that  all  men 
"should  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  and  be  saved, 
"he  commissioned  his  apostles  to  go  and  teach  all  nations 
"  the  observance  of  all  his  precepts  and  commands.  The 
"  establishment  of  this  church  is  clearly  foretold  by  the 
"prophet  Isaiah,  when  he  says,  (chap.  2:  ver.  2.)  that  '  in 
"the  last  days  the  mountain  of  the  house  of  our  Lord  shall 
"be  prepared  on  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  it  shall  be 
"exalted  above  the  hills,  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it: 
"  and  many  people  shall  say,  Come,  let  us  go  up  to  the 
"  mountain  of  the  Lord,  and  to  the  house  of  the  God  of 
"Jacob,  and  he  will  teach  us  his  ways.  For  the  law  shall 
"  come  forth  from  Zion,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Je- 
"rusalem.'"    Page  14. 

The  learned  Wadington  states  as  follows:  "The  con- 
"  verts  of  the  Jerusalem  Church  naturally  formed  the  first 
«•  Christian  Society,  and,  for  a  short  period,  probably  the 
"most  numerous.  About  the  year  60,  A.  D.,  James  the 
"Just,  president,  or  bishop,  of  the  Church  of  Jerusalem, 
"perished  by  a  violent  death.  (See  Josephus,  chap.  9  :  p. 
"22.)     Its  niembers,  electing  his  successor,  the  choice  fell 


THE     MOTHER     CHURCH.  31 

"  on  Simeon.  During  the  continuance  of  the  war  which 
"  was  carried  on  by  tiie  Romans,  who  destroyed  tlie  city 
"  A.  D.  70,  tlie  Holy  Land  was  subjected  to  a  variety  and 
'  intensity  of  suifering:,  to  which  no  parallel  can  be  fonnd 
"in  the  records  of  any  people,  *  *  A  short  time  before 
"  the  Roman  invasion,  the  Christian  Church  retired  to 
"  Felhi  beyond  Jordan.  During  the  next  sixty  years,  we 
"read  little  respecting  the  Christian  Church  of  Jerusalem, 
"  except  the  names  of  fifteen  successive  presidents,  called 
"'Bishops  of  the  Circumcision.'  *  *  Some  sort  of  author- 
"ity  was  at  first  exercised  by  the  Mother  Church  over  her 
"Gentile  children."* 

The  excellent  Haweis  says:  "The  chnrch  at  Jerusalem 
"seems  to  have  been  under  the  presidence  of  the  Apostle 
"James.  Peter's  pre-emnieuce,  either  among  the  Jews  in 
"Palestine,  or  the  Gentiles  in  the  nations,  no  where  ap- 
"  pears.  And  as  to  the  idea  of  his  being  the  founder  and 
"bishop  of  the  church  at  Rome,  it  is  evident  that  it  was 
"raised  by  no  labors  of  his,  and  a  matter  very  doubtful 
"  wliether  he  ever  visited  that  metropolis  of  the  world."  i.  p. 

Milner  (who  agrees  with  the  foregoing  account)  says: 
"Toward  the  end  of  the  first  century,  all  the  churches 
"followed  the  model  of  the  'Mother  Church'  of  Jerusalem, 
"where  one  of  the  apostles  was  the  first  bishop.  A  settled 
"  presidency  obtained,  and  the  name  of  angel  (Rev,  2) 
"  was  first  given,  though  soon  succeeded  by  that  of  Bisli- 
"  op."t 

Milman  says:  "The  apostles  always  commenced  their 
"  labors  in  the  synagogue.  In  the  first  century,  in  Rome 
"and  Corinth,  there  were  communities,  the  Petrine  and 
"Pauline,  called  a  Judaizing  and  a Hellenizing  Church."]; 

Mosheim  says:  "The  first  Christian  Church,  founded  by 
"the  apostles,  was  that  of  Jerusalem,  the  model  of  all 
"those  which  were  afterward  erected  during  the  first  cen- 
"  tury.  This  church  was,  indeed,  governed  by  the  apostles 
"themselves.  *  *  Among  the  virtues  which  distinguished 
"  the  rising  church  in  this  its  infancy,  was  that  of  charity 
"  to  the  poor." 

Gibbon  writes:  "The  first  fifteen  bishops  of  Jerusalem 
"were  all  circumcised  Jews;  and  tlie  congregation(s) 
"over  which  they  presided,  united  the  Law  of  Moses  with 
'the  doctrine  of  Christ.     It  was  natural  that  the  primitive 

*Wa(linerton's  Church   History,  pp.  29,  30.      f  Milucr's  Eccle.  His.  vol.  1.  p.  293. 
JMilmau's  Eccle.  His.  pp.  158, 160, 188. 


32 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


"  tradition  of  a  church  was  founded  only  forty  days  after 
"  the  death  of  Christ,  and  was  governed  almost  as  many 
"  years  under  the  immediate  inspection  of  tlie  apostles, 
"should  be  received  as  the  standard  of  orthodoxy.  The 
"  distant  churches  frequently  appealed  to  the  authority 
"of  their  venerable  parent ;  but  when  numerous  and  op- 
"  ulent  societies  were  established  in  the  great  cities  of  the 
"  empire,  this  reverence  insensibly  diminished.  The  Naz- 
"  arenes,  who  had  laid  the  found.ations  of  the  church,  soon 
"found  themselves  overwhelmed  by  the  increasing  multi- 
"  tudes  that  from  all  the  various  religions  of  Polytheism,  en- 
"  listed  under  the  banner  of  Christ.  *  *  And  the  Gentiles, 
"who  had  rejected  the  Mosaic  ceremonies,  at  length  re- 
" fused  to  their  more  scrupulous  brethren  the  same  toler- 
"  ation  which  at  first  they  had  humbly  solicited.  *  *  The 
"Nazarenes  retired  from  the  ruins  of  Jerusalem  to  the 
"  little  town  of  Pella.  The  exiled  church  retaining  the  ti- 
"  tie  of  Jerusalem  being  now  confounded  with  the  Jews 
"who  were  forbidden  to  enter  Jerusalem,  they  had  only 
"one  way  left  of  escaping  the  common  proscription  ;  they 
"  elected,  for  their  President,  Marcus,  a  prelate  of  the 
"  Gentiles  ;  and,  at  his  iDcrsuasion,  the  most  considerable 
"part  of  the  congregation  renounced  the  Mosaic  Law.  *  * 
"  When  the  name  and  honors  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem 
"  had  been  restored  to  Mount  Zion,  the  crimes  of  heresy 
"and  schism  were  imputed  to  the  obscure  remnant  of  the 
"Nazarenes,  which  refused  to  accompany  the  Latin  bishop. 
"They  still  abode  at  Pella,  and  spread  to  the  villages  ad- 
"jacent  to  Damascus,  the  city  of  Borea,  or  Aleppo,  in 
"  Syria,  where  they  still  existed  down  to  the  fourth  cen- 
"  tury."* 

That  Peter  Avas  still  with  them  is  evident  from  the  di- 
rection of  his  epistle.  "The  church  that  is  at  Babylon, 
elected  together  with  you,  saluteth  you  ;  and  so  doth  Mar- 
cus my  son.''  1  Peter  5 :  13.  Nor  is  it  probable  that  he 
ever  saw  Rome,  unless  as  a  prisoner.  The  legends,  speak 
not  of  his  ministry  there;  but  of  his  martyrdom,  his  wife 
before  him.     If  we  accept  one,  we  must  also  the  other. 

Eusebius,  "Father  of  Church  History,"  continues  the 
history  of  the  Mother  Church  still  farther.     He  says : 

"  So  much  have  I  learned  from  writers,  that  down  to 

^Gibbon,  vol.1,  pp.  253-255. 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  CHUBCH.  33 

"the  invasion  of  the  Jews  under  Adrian  there  were  fifteen 
"in  succession  of  bishops  in  the  church  at  Jerusalem.  *  * 
"The  first,  therefore,  was  James,  the  brother  of  our  Lord; 
*'  after  him,  the  second  was  Simeon,  the  third  Justus,  the 
•'fourth  Zaccheus,  the  fifth  Tobias,  the  sixth  Benjamin,  the 
'*  seventh  John,  the  ei2:hth  Matthias,  the  ninth  Philip,  the 
''tenth  Seneca,  the  eleventh  Justus,  the  twelfth  Levi,  the 
"thirteenth  Epaphras,  the  fourteenth  Joseph,  the  fifteenth 
"Judas."* 

To  Jerusalem  then  we  must  look  for  the  divine  minis- 
try, the  sacred  writings,  the  doctrine,  the  church  order, 
the  Christian  spirit,  the  truths  of  religion.  To  Jerusalem 
for  the  church,  and  to  James  as  the  first  bishop,  sui)erior 
to  and  over  Peter  and  John.  Eusebius  says:f  "James 
the  Jvist,  and  brother  of  our  Lord,  being  the  son  of  Joseph, 
had  the  honor  of  being  consecrated  the  first  bishop  of  Je- 
rusalem, without  emulation  (as  Clement  observes  in  his 
institutions)  on  the  part  of  Peter  and  John."  B.  2,  line 
6.  After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  the  apostles,  dis- 
ciples and  kindred  of  Christ,  *  *  chose  unanimously  for 
successor  to  James,  Simeon  the  son  of  Cleopas,  and  neph- 
ew to  Christ." 

When  Jesus  said.  Whom  say  ye  that  I  the  Son  of  man 
am?  and  Peter  answered;  thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  living  God ;  and  Jesus  said,  blessed  art  thou  Simon 
Bar-jona,  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto 
thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven  ;  and  thou  art 
Peter,  and  upon  tliis  rock  I  will  build  my  church ;  and 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it ;  some  con- 
tend that  the  foundation  alluded  to  was  Peter :  but  Jesus 
says  not  Uerpog  but  Uerpa,  and  Paul  says,  other  foundation 
can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ. 
This  even  the  better  informed  Romanists  admit,  and,  there- 
fore, in  their  Douay  version,  they  do  not  translate  the 
words  ov  ei  Uerpog  thou  art  a  rock,  but  "Thou  art  Peter," 
and  upon  this  rock,  Ilerpa,  will  1  build  my  church.  The 
great  Jesuit,  F.  X.  Weninger,  D.  D.,  in  collatmg  his  work 
to  prove  the  pope's  infallibility,  quotes  as  follows : 

*Eiiseb.  iii.  69,  74.  iv.  73.       fl^iiseb.  iii.  09. 

3 


34  CHURCH    HISTORY. 


THE  EVANGELICAL  AGE. 

APOSTLES  37,  SYRIAN  TESTAMENT  41,  THE  LORD's  BROTHER  43^ 
PAUL  47,  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  NEW  TESTAMENT  CANON, 
49,  CATALOGUES  53,  TESTIMONIES  54,  BIBLE  BURNT  57,  CLEM- 
ENT   58,    POLYCARP    61,  IGNATIUi    63,  PAPIAS    66. 

THE    FIRST    CHURCH    AND    ITS    PREACHERS. 

1.  The  twelve  apf)stles.  "Peter,  Andrew,  James  the  son  of 
Zebedee,  and  John  his  brother,  Philip,  Bartholomew,  Thomas, 
Matthew,  James  the  son  of  Alpheus,  Lebbeus,  Simon,  and  Judas 
Iscariot." 

2.  Then  there  were  also  the  seventy  disciples. 

3.  At  Pentecost  "The  number  of"  their  names  together  were 
about  a  hundred  and  twenty."     Acts  1:  15. 

4.  On  the  mountain,  in  Galilee,  after  the  resurrection  in  his 
thirteenth  appearance,  "Christ  was  seen  of  about  five  hundred 
brethren  at  once."      1  Cor.  15:  8. 

Of  these  Eusebius  says:  "James  the  brother  of  the  Lord,  and 
Peter  and  John,  received  the  gift  of  knowledge  from  the  Lord,  but 
the  other  apostles  and  the  seventy  derived  it  from  them."  Book 
2:  1.     According  to  Acts  2:  4  Christ  bestowed  it  upon  all. 

First.  Peter.  His  labors  extended  from  Jerusalem  and  Judea 
and  Samaria  to  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  Bythinia,  Anti- 
ocli,  and  Babylon.  We  can  easily  see  how  readily  Peter's  suffering 
at  Rome  could  be  changed  to  Peter's  being  bishop  of  Rome,  es- 
pecially when  his  name  would  give  authority  to  Roman  aggrandize- 
meut. 

PETER'S   LIKENESS. 

"He  was  a  robust  old  man,  with  a  broad  forehead,  rath- 
er coarse  features,  an  open  and  undaunted  countenance, 
short  gray  hair,  and  short  thick  beard,  curled  and  of  a 
silvery  white.  Peter  spent  most  of  his  life  in  peace.  He 
traveled  as  far  as  Antioch,  Mesopotamia,  Chaldea,  and  the 
province  of  Babylon,  and  crane  over  to  Eome,  where  he 
suffered  under  Nero — his  wife  also  going  before  him, — 
whom  he  exhorted  to  ^'remember  the  Lord."  That  he  was 
a  married  man  Vv^e  know  as  Paul  alludes  to  his  wife,  1  Cor. 
9:  5,  and  Jesus  healed  his  wile's  mother.  Matt.  8:  l-i. 


THE    FOUNDATION   OF   THE    CHURCH.  35 

THAT    ROCK   IS   CHRIST. 

St.  Cyril.  "  The  rock  here  intended  by  Christ  is  noth- 
ing else  tliaii  the  disciples'  unshaken  faith,  on  which  the 
church  was  built." 

St.  Ambrose.  "  Faith  is  the  groundwork  of  the  church,, 
because  of  tlie  faith,  and  not  of  the  person  of  Peter,  it  was 
said,  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it." 

St.  Chrysostom.  "He  (Christ)  did  not  say  Petrus,  but 
Petra,  because  he  did  not  build  his  church  upon  the  man, 
but  upon  the  faith." 

C^sarius.  "On  this  rock,  namely,  on  the  unsliaken faith 
to  which  thou  owest  thy  name,  I  will  build  my  church."* 

The  rock  was  the  revealed  truth,  the  faith  confessed, 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God:  that  of  which 
Jesus  said,  "  Flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  IT  unto 
thee  ;  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  The  impulsive 
changing  character  of  Peter  does  not  warrant  us  in  sup- 
posing that  Jesus  would  make  him  the  feeble  foundation 
of  his  great  church.  Nor  could  Peter,  after  denying  his 
Savior,  easily  regain  his  former  standing,  or  confidence. 
Indeed  in  the  Gospel  of  Mark,  said  to  have  been  dictated 
by  Peter,  there  is  no  account  of  the  blessings,  or  founda- 
tion. On  the  contrary,  Peter  is  not  called  a  rock,  but 
Satan.  8  :  27-33.  And  if  wicked  men  can  be  his  suc- 
cessors, it  must  be  in  the  latter  rather  than  the  former 
character.  The  close  questioning,  "  Lovest  thou  me  ?"  by 
the  Savior,  accompanied  by  the  repeated  charge  "Feed 
my  sheep;"  "Feed  my  lambs;"  far  more  naturally  implies 
reproof  than  pre-eminence;  especially  if  we  consider 
that  when  he  asked  the  Savior  "What  shall  this  man 
(John)  do  ?"  Jesus  instead  of  instructing  him  on  so  im- 
portant a  point,  reproved  his  interference,  replying,  "What 
is  that  to  thee  ?  follow  thou  me."  Though  Peter  for  some 
time  after  the  resurrection  was  the  most  prominent  among 

*Weningei'  (Cath.)  ou  Infal,  pp.  21,  23. 


36  CHURCH  HISTORY. 

the  apostles,  yet  he  was  subject  to  his  brethren.  They 
'''•sent  Peter  and  John"  to  Samaria.  In  the  eleventh  chap- 
ter of  the  Acts  they  called  him  to  account  for  admitting 
the  Gentiles.  In  the  twelfth,  after  being  delivered  from 
prison  by  the  angel,  he  said,  "Go  and  show  these  things 
to  James  and  the  brethren."  In  the  fifteenth  chapter  he 
addresses  the  council,  in  common  with  Paul,  Barnabas  and 
others ;  and  James  decides,  as  president  of  the  conference, 
saying,  "  My  sentence  is,  "  etc.  After  this  Peter  is  heard 
of  no  more  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  ;  but  Paul  said,  when 
"Peter  was  come  to  Antioch,  I  withstood  him  to  the  face, 
because  he  was  to  be  blamed.  For  before  that  certain 
came  from  James,  he  did  eat  with  the  Gentiles ;  but  when 
they  were  come  he  withdrew,  and  separated  himself."  Gal 
2:  11.  His  epistles,  though  short,  are  full  of  grace  and 
truth,  and  breathe  a  pure  and  holy  devotion  to  his  great 
Master.  He  closes  his  first  epistle  with  salutations  of 
"The  church  which  is  at  Babylon."  Romans  and  others 
understand  him  here  to  mean  by  Babylon,  Rome,  and  re- 
ceive this  as  proof  that  he  wrote  from  Rome.  In  the  "His- 
tory of  the  Christian  Church,"  by  Rev.  Charles  Walmesley, 
Roman,  he  says. 

"Babylon  the  great,  is  here  the  same  with  the  city  of 
"  Rome.  In  the  primitive  ages  this  figurative  name  of 
*' Babylon  was  frequently  given  to  heathen  Rome  by  the 
"Christians,  on  account  of  the  resemblance  of  the  charac- 
"  ters  of  these  two  cities,  for  their  idolatry,  and  for  their 
"oppressing,  the  one  the  Jews,  the  other  the  Christians. 
"St.  Peter  dates  his  first  letter  from  Babylon,  1  Pet.  5 :  13, 
"  that  is,  from  Rome,  as  St.  Jerome  and  Eusebius  tell  us. 
"'The  appellation  of  Babylon,"  said  Tertullian,  '  is  used 
"by  St.  John  for  the  city  of  Rome,  because  she  resembles 
"  ancient  Babylon,  in  the  extent  of  her  walls,  in  her  haugh- 
"  tiness  on  account  of  her  dominion,  and  in  persecuting 
"  the  saints.  Lih.  Adv.  JucV  '  Rome  is  a  second  Baby- 
"lon,'  says  also  St.  Austin,  'and  a  daughter  of  the  an- 
"  cient  Babylon.     De  Civit,  lih.  22.  c.  18.' " 

I  suppose  Peter  knew  best  where  he  was.  And  he 
Bays  Babylon.     Babylon  was  the  metropolis  of  the  East, 


THREE  HUNDRED  YEARS.  37 

where  Jews  and  Christians  Avould  alike  reside.  I  can  not 
think  that  Peter  in  dating  his  letter  would  call  the  city  he 
was  writing  from,  by  its  figurative  name.  That  Peter 
closed  his  life  by  martyrdom  at  Rome,  is  credible,  but  if 
he  resided  there  as  bishop  it  is  astonishing  into  what  ob- 
scurity he  must  have  fallen  when  we  consider  that  no 
account  of  his  labors  there  is  anywhere  found  in  history 
or  the  New  Testament. 

In  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  A.  D.  60,  among  Paul's 
numerous  salutations  no  mention  is  made  of  his  person  or 
work.  Paul  names  many,  but  Peter  seems  to  be  unknown. 
When  Paul  arrived  there  in  63,  though  it  created  a  great 
stir  in  the  city,  Peter  is  not  mentioned.  The  refugees 
from  Rome,  Priscilla,  Aquila  and  others,  make  no  men- 
tion of  Peter  there.  Several  of  Paul's  epistles  were  writ- 
ten from  Rome,  but  in  none  of  them  does  he  allude  to 
Peter  as  ever  having  been  at  Rome. 

Peter  was  never  Pope  of  Rome  as  Rome  was  a  pagan  city,  and 
had  its  own  pagan  pontiffs  at  this  time, 

Christ  appointed  no  Pope. 

Christ  forbid  our  calling  any  man  father,  i.  e.,  pope. 

Christ  forbid  any  such  rulers  in  his  Church.     Matt.  10  :  19. 

Pope  or  PontiflFis  a  High  Priest.  Christ  is  our  only  High  Priest. 

Christ  rebuked  Peter  for  assuming  authority.     John  21:  22. 

The  Apostles  rebuked  him  when  he  was  wrong.     Gal.  2. 

Christ  called  him  Peter,  also  Satan.     Names  are  not  reliable. 

The  Apostles  sent  him  about  his  work.     Acts  8:  14. 

Peter  abode  in  Cesarea,  not  in  Rome.     Acts  12 :  19. 

No  appeal  was  ever  made  to  Peter  as  authority. 

Peter  never  claimed  to  be  Pope  even  when  reproved.     Acts  11. 

The  Gospel  of  St.  Mark,  attributed  to  him,  omits  any  proof. 

PETERpleadedineouncil,but  James  gave  "sentence."  Acts  15:  19. 

Peter  was  in  Asia  to  A.  D.  60.     Acts,  Chapters  8,  10,  U.     Gal.  2. 

Acts,  Epistles  and  history  are  silent  about  any  Christian  Pope. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  did  not  exist  in  Peter's  time. 

It  had  neither  pope,  bishop  nor  historian  till  the  fourth  century. 

EUSEBIUS  says,  Book  II,  Chapter  2,  '^  After  Paul  and  Feter^ 
Linus  was  the  first  to  receive  the  Episcopate  of  Rome." 

Book  III,  Chapter  30.  "Peter  and  Philip  indeed  had  chil- 
dren." "  Paul  does  not  demur  in  a  certain  epistle  to  mention  his 
own  wife."  "  They  relate  that  the  blessed  Peter,  seeing  his  own 
wife  led  away  to  execution,  was  delighted  on  account  of  her  call- 
ing and  return  to  her  country,  and  that  he  cried  to  her  in  a  con- 
solatory and  encouraging  voice  :     '  0  thou  blessed  of  the  Lord.'  " 


38  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

The  first  quotation  Romans  reject  as  it  might  admit  Paul 
among  the  popes;  and  the  second,  as  it  would  admit  the 
Pope  among  married  men.  The  first  gives  Peter  a  part- 
ner in  the  firm  of  "-Paul  and  Peter;"  and  the  second  a 
family,  as  Peter,  wife 'and  children.  Popes  have  no  part- 
ners and  no  wives.  So  they  honor  Peter  with  a  pagan's 
throne  but  rob  him  of  his  Christian  wife.  Euseb.  o:  23. 
Second.  Andrew.  The  second  was  really  the  first,  for 
'' He  first  findeth  his  own  brother  Simon,  and  saith  unto 
him,  We  have  found  the  Messiah,  which  is,  being  inter- 
preted, the  Christ.  And  he  brought  him  to  Jesus."  John 
2  :  12.  Andrew  preached  the  gospel  in  Scythia,  Byzantium 
and  various  provinces  of  Greece,  and  other  countries.  At 
Sin  ope,  on  the  Euxine,  he  met  Peter.  At  last,  coming  to 
Patrge  in  Achai,  he  was  crucified.  His  cross  has  the  form 
of  X.     Andrew  is  the  patron  saint  of  Scotland. 

James.  "James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John  his  bro- 
ther." These  two  were  called  Boanerges,  or  the  "sons  of 
thunder."  This  James  is  called  James  the  greater,  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  James  the  less.  His  death  is  recorded 
in  Acts  12  :  2.  When  he  was  led  forth  to  execution,  his  ac 
cuser  aslved  his  pardon.  James  tenderly  kissed  him,  say- 
ing, "  Peace  be  to  thee,  and  the  pardon  of  all  thy  faults," 
when  the  accuser  professed  to  be  a  Christian  and  the  two 
sufi'ered  together. 

Fourth.  John.  John  and  James  were  brothers.  James 
was  the  first  of  the  apostles  to  die,  and  John  the  last.  John 
was  the  beloved  disciple.  He  leaned  on  the  Savior's 
breast.  He  knew  the  high  priest,  and  went  in  boldly  at 
the  trial  of  Jesus.  He  was  not  houseless  like  Jesus  and 
the  family  of  Jesus,  but  had  a  home ;  and  to  his  care  Jesus 
commended  his  mother.  Jesus  said  to  Peter,  "If  I  will 
that  he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee,"  and  the 
disciples  not  looking  for  Christ's  coming  till  the  end  of 
the  world,  the  tradition  obtained  that  he  would  never  die. 
He  lived  to  see  the  Savior's  words  concerning  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  fulfilled,  and  in  his  Reveltition  writes 
much  of  the  New  Jerusalem.     While  on  the  Isle  of  Pat- 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  39 

moslie  wrote  his  Revelation.  Living  many  years  after  the 
other  evangelists  were  dead,  he  is  supposed  to  have  writ- 
ten his  gospel  to  supply  their  deficiencies.  He,  probably, 
knew  best ;  and  he  says :  "  These  are  written,  that  ye 
might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God." 
John  20:  31.  Tradition  says,  that  he  fled  the  bath  at 
Ephesus,  where  Corinthius  and  Ebion  were  bathing,  nei- 
ther of  whom  confessed  the  true  faith  in  the  Son  of  God, 
and  that  he  was  cast  into  a  chaldron  of  boiling  oil,  and 
came  out  uninjured;  that  on  one  occasion  he  followed  a 
youth  who  had  apostatized,  and  become  the  leader  of  a 
band  of  robbers,  to  his  place  of  retreat,  and  at  a  great 
risk  restored  him  to  the  paths  of  rectitude.  "  John  in  the 
"vehemence  of  his  charity,  went  to  the  place,  and  expos- 
"  ed  himself  to  be  taken  by  the  robbers.  Bring  me,  says 
"  he,  to  your  captain.  The  young  robber  beheld  him  com- 
"  ing ;  and  as  soon  as  he  knew  the  aged  and  venerable 
"  Apostle,  he  was  struck  with  shame,  and  fled.  St.  John 
"  followed  him  and  cried.  My  son,  why  fliest  thou  from  thy 
"father,  unarmed  and  old?  Fear  not;  as  yet  there  remain- 
"  etli  hope  of  salvation.  Believe  me,  Christ  hath  sent  me. 
"  Hearing  this,  the  young  man  stood  still,  trembled,  and 
"  wept  bitterly.  John  prayed,  exhorted,  and  brought  him 
"  back  to  the  society  of  Christians ;  nor  did  he  leave  him, 
"till  he  judged  him  fully  restored  by  divine  grace."  When 
too  old  and  feeble  to  preach,  he  would  be  carried  to  the 
Christian  meetings,  where  he  ever  repeated  these  words, 
"  Children,  love  one  another."  He  lived  through  much  per- 
secution, and  was  about  one  hundred  years  old  when  he 
died — the  last  of  a  favored  generation — the  last  of  the 
apostles.  Jerome  compares  John  to  an  eagle,  as  the  early 
traditions  supposed  the  four  beasts  near  the  throne  lo  rep- 
resent the  four  evangelists,  the  last  of  which,  the  flying 
eagle,  was  John.  "He  was  at  once  Apostle,  Evangelist, 
and  Prophet ; — Apostle,  in  that  he  wrote  letters  to  the 
churches,  as  a  master ;  Evangelist,  as  he  wrote  a  book  of 
the  Gospel  which  no  other  of  the  twelve  apostles  did, 
except  St.  Matthew ;  Prophet,  as  he  saw  the  revelation  in 
the  island  of  Patmos,  where  he  was  banished  by  Domitian. 


40  CnUECH    HISTOKT. 

His  Gospel,  too,  differs  from  the  rest.  Like  an  eagle  he 
ascends  to  the  very  throne  of  God,  and  says,  'In  the  be- 
ginning was  the  Word."' 

On  the   design  of   John's   writings,  we  will  read   the 

great  Irentens,  condemning  corrupt  doctrines. 

"The  gospel  acknoAvledges  no  other  Son  of  Man,  ex- 
'cept  him  who  was  born  of  Mary,  and  who  sufiered.  It 
'knows  nothing  of  the  Christ  flying  from  Jesus,  previous 
'  to  his  passion.  It  knows  only  him  who  was  born,  viz., 
'  Jesus,  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  who,  still  the  same 
'person,  suffered  and  rose  again  from  the  dead;  as  John 
'the  disciple  of  the  Lord  confirms,  saying, 'But  these  are 
'written  that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ, 
'the  Son  of  God;  and  that  believing  ye  might  have  life 
'through  his  name;'*  guarding  against  those  blasphemous 
'  doctrines  which  divide  the  Lord  as  much  as  possible,  af- 
' firming  him  to  consist  of  this  substance  and  of  the  other. 
On  which  account,  also  he  (John)  hath  testified  in  his 
'Epistle:  '  Little  children,  it  is  the  last  time;  and  as  ye 
'have  heard  that  antichrist  shall  come,  even  now  are 
'there  many  antichrists  ;  whereby  we  know  that  it  is  the 
'  last  time.  They  went  out  from  us,  but  they  were  not  of 
'us  ;  for  if  they  had  been  of  us,  they  would  no  doubt  have 
'  continued  with  us  ;  but  they  went  out  that  they  might 
'be  made  manifest  that  they  were  not  all  of  us.'f  'Who 
'is  a  liar  but  he  that  denieth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  !':|: 
'This  is  antichrist.  That  homicidal  opinion  of  1  heirs, 
'which  diminishes  and  divides  into  pieces  the  Son  of  God, 
'was  what  the  Lord  forewarned  us  to  beware  of,  and  what 
'his  Apostle  John,  in  his  epistle,  enjoins  us  to  shun,  every 
'spirit  that  divides  Jesus  Christ  is  not  of  God,  but  of  anti- 
christ. 

Philip.  Philip  was  of  Eethsaida,  the  city  of  Andrew 
and  Peter.  He  is  one  of  the  three  married  apostles.  Eu- 
sebius  speaks  of  him  when  he  says :  "  Of  the  apostles 
three  were  married ;  St.  Peter,  St.  Paul,  and  St.  Philip.  St. 
Philip  had  children.  *  *  St.  Philip  and  his  three  daugh- 
ters *  *  *  died  at  Hierapolis,  in  Asia.  Eub.  iii.  73.  This 
city  was  near  Colosse  and  Laodicea.    It  is  named  in  Col.  4  . 

Sixth.     Bartholomew,  {.  e.,  son  of  Tolmai.     He  carried 

*John20:31.    n  Jolin  2:  18-22'       :1,  2;5:1.     J 2  John  vs.  7,  8.     Michael's  Intro,  iv. 

4U9, 410. 


MEMBERS  OF  THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  ^.J 

the  gospel  to  India,  bordering  on  Ethiopia  or  Chaldea.  Pan- 
tasnus,  found  Matthew's  Gospel  in  Hebrew,  which  had 
been  left  there  by  Bartholemew. 

Seventh.  Thomas.  lie  is  also  called  Didymus,  signifying 
a  "Twin."  He  is  the  disciple  that  first  doubted,  then  ex- 
claimed "My  Lord  and  my  God."  Thus,  "by  touching  in 
Christ  the  wounds  of  the  flesh,  he  has  healed  in  us  the 
wounds  of  unbelief."  Many  who  deny  that  Christ  is  the  Son 
of  God,  and  yet  profess  to  honor  him  by  calling  him  God, 
might  be  cured  by  thrusting  their  hands  into  his  side  and 
asking  "  Is  this  the  God  of  my  creed  unthoiit  hody  or 
^parisV  Thomas  preached  the  gosj^el  in  India,  and  was 
martyred  at  a  place  named  Milliapoor.  The  eastern  Chris- 
tians, whom  the  Portuguese  found  in  India,  all  agreed  in 
marking  out  this  as  the  place  of  his  death,  and  in  saying 
that  his  bones,  originally  hurried  here,  had  been  carried 
away  as  relics  to  Syria.  On  those  coasts  he  made  many 
converts,  the  descendants  of  whom  are  called  the  St. 
Thomas  Christians,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Bu- 
chanan, Bishop  Heber,  and  other  enlightened  travelers. 

Eighth.  Matthew.  He  was  a  Jew  of  Galilee,  also  a  Poman 
citizen,  and  a  receiver  of  custom;  custom-house  officer  by 
the  sea  of  Galilee.  Levi  was  his  Hebrew,  and  Matthew  his 
Roman  name.  He  wrote  his  gospel  in  Hebrew,  A.  I).  40, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Hebrew  Christians,  and  in  Greek,  A. 
B.  65.  There  is  a  Syrian  copy  in  the  British  Museum  sup- 
posed to  be  the  original  Hebrew.  The  contrast  is  little: 
Greek.  Syrian. 

i.  20,  He  shall  save  his  peo-He  shall  save  the  world  from 
pie  from  their  sins.  its  sins. 

i.  23,  God  with  us.  Our  God  with  us. 

i.  25,  knew  her  not.  dwelt  with  her  in  purity, 

vii.    5,  hypocrite.  accepter  of  persons. 

XV.  22,  grievously  demonized.  badly  conducted  by  a  devil's 
xvi.  ly,  the  keys  of  the  king-  hand. 

dom.  the  kevs  of  the  gates  of  the 


kingdom. 


jStowe  on  the  Bible,  p.  165. 


42  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

Ninth.  James  the  son  of  Alpheus.  Called  also  James 
the  Less,  was  the  son  of  Mary,  the  sister  of  the  mother  of 
Jesus.  "  There  stood  by  the  cross  of  Jesus,  his  mother,  and 
his  mother's  sister,  Mary  the  wife  of  Cleopas,  and  Mary 
Magdalene."  John  19:  25.  This  James  was  cousin,  avtipio^ 
{anejjhsios)  not  adeXcpog  (brother').  There  are  three  James 

1st.  James  the  Great,  son  of  Zebedee,  brother  of  John, 
and  one  of  the  twelve,  and  early  beheaded. 

2d.  James  the  Less,  son  of  Alpheus,  called  Cleopas, 
brother  of  Judas,  and  also  one  of  the  twelve. 

3d.  James  the  Just,  son  of  Joseph,  and  brother  of  our 
Lord,  an  apostle  added  after  the  twelve,  and  placed  by 
the  other  apostles  in  the  Episcopal  seat  at  Jerusalem.  He 
was  president  of  the  Apostolic  Council,  and,  being  mar- 
tyred, was  succeeded  in  his  Episcopate  at  Jerusalem  by 
his  cousin  Simeon  the  son  of  Cleopas. 

Tenth.  Lebbeus,  whose  surname  was  Thaddeus,  called 
also  Judas  the  brother  of  James.  Jude,  Judas  and  Judah 
are  the  same  name.  Thaddeus  is  derived  from  the  same 
root.  The  first  signifies  "The  praise  of  the  Lord.  "Leb- 
beus signifies  "  a  man  of  heart,"  probably  given  to  distia- 
guisli  him  from  Judas  of  the  bad  heart. 

Eleventh.  Simon  the  Canaanite.  He  was  "Zelotes,"  Ca- 
naanite  in  Hebrew  signifying  a  zealot.  Tradition  says  he 
first  labored  in  Egypt,  then  in  Britain,  where  he  was  cru- 
cified. 

Twelfth.  Judas  which  also  betrayed  him.  Judas  hav- 
ing repented  of  his  wickedness,  went  and  hanged  himself, 
but  falling  headlong  he  burst  asunder  and  died  miserably. 
Though  known  to  be  a  bad  man  from  the  beginning,  Jesus 
sufi"ered  him  to  commune,  saying,  "  Behold  the  hand  of 
nim  that  betrayeth  me  is  with  me  on  the  table.  And  truly 
the  Son  of  man  goeth  as  it  was  determined:  but  woe  unto 
that  man  by  whom  he  is  betrayed !"     Luke  22 :  21. 

Thirteenth.  Matthias  chosen  in  place  of  Judas.  We 
have  no  reliable  legends  of  his  labors. 


OTHER   APOSTLES   BESIDES   THE  TWELVE.  43 

Otliers^  Eusebius  says,  "  were  called  apostles  beside  the 
twelve,  as  when  St.  Paul  immediately  subjoins,  and  then 
he  was  seen  of  all  the  apostles."     Euseb.  i.  53. 

The  apostle  naturally  following  the  twelve  is  "-James 
the  Lord's  brother.''  No  one  well  acquainted  with  the 
Scriptures  can  believe  the  unscriptural  fable,  that  Jesus 
had  no  brother.  The  words,  "Joseph  knew  her  not  till  she 
had  brought  forth  her  first  horn^\  teach  a  diiferent  doc- 
trine. See  Luke  1 :  34.  Also  the  following  Scriptures: 
"  Jesus  went  down  to  Capernaum,  he  and  his  mother^  and 
his  Irethren^  and  his  disciples.''''  John  2  :  12.  "There  came 
th^i  his  'brethren^''  etc.  Mark  3:  31.  "His  brethren,  James, 
and  Joses,  and  Simon,  and  Judas,  and  his  sisters,  are  they 
not  all  with  us  ?"  Matt.  13  :  55.  "Neither  did  his  brethren 
believe  in  him."  John  7  :  5.  The  expressed  want  of  faith 
here  may  not  include  each  ;  or  at  least  it  may  not  include 
all  in  the  same  degree  ;  for  James  the  Lord's  brother  is 
known  in  history  as  one  of  the  "Seventy  disciples."  Euseb. 
ii.  53.  We  at  this  distant  time,  living  in  the  full  blaze  of 
Christian  light,  can  hardly  realize  the  narrow  isthmus  of 
faith  which  united  the  two  continents  of  Judaism  and  the 
incoming  kingdom.  On  this  isthmus  many  of  the  devout 
and  good,  for  reasons  best  known  to  the  Master,  were  long 
left  halting ;  for  Jesus  did  not  at  first  make  himself  pub- 
licly known  as  the  Messiah,  being  willing  that  this  knowl- 
edge should  principally  be  developed  by  coming  events. 
Therefore  we  are  not  surprised  that  James,  the  most  de- 
vout man  of  tiie  age,  should,  after  the  death  of  Joseph, 
his  father,  retire  to  the  family  duties,  the  care  of  his  moth- 
er, and  the  service  of  the  synagogue  (in  which  Jesus 
sometimes  participated,  Luke  4:  16),  and  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  that  virtue,  and  the  practice  of  that  devotion  and 
prayer,  for  which  he  was  so  noted  ;  and  the  establishing 
of  that  character  for  goodness  which  was  the  subsequent 
means  of  bringing  so  many  leading  Jews,  and  even  priests 
to  the  Christian  faith.  Some  suppose  the  Lord's  brethren, 
James,  Joses,  Simon,  and  Judas  were  his  cousins,  the  sons 
of  Cleopas,  called  Alpheus,  the  brother  of  Joseph. 


44  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

1.  But  the  sons  of  Alpheus  did  honor  Christ  from  the 
first,  and  were  believers,  and  with  him,  while  the  Jews 
said  of  his  brethren,  "  are  they  not  with  us,''  and  ''  they  did 
not  believe  on  him."     John  7 :  5, 

2.  These  four  are  always  found  in  a  group  with  Mary 
the  mother  of  Jesus,  as  his  "brethren;"  and  are  never 
found  with  Alpheus  and  Mary  his  wile. 

3.  We  can  not  think  these  four  men  would  leave  their 
father's  family,  of  comparative  wealth,  while  their  father, 
Cleopas,  was  still  living,  and  live  with  their  poor  aunt, 
whose  husband  Joseph  was  dead ;  especially  as  they  did 
not  believe  in  her  son  Jesus. 

4.  The  similarity  of  names  is  accounted  for,  as  they 
often  in  olden  times  gave  the  same  name  to  different  chil- 
dren of  the  same  family.  Thus  Mary  the  wife  of  Cleopas 
was  sister  to  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  as  we  read  :  '-There 
stood  by  the  cross  of  Jesus,  his  mother,  and  his  mother's 
sister,  Mary  the  wife  of  Cleopas.''  But  why,  if  Mary  had 
sons,  did  Jesus  commend  his  mother  to  John  ?  Mary  and 
her  children,  after  the  death  of  Joseph  were  poor,  and 
probably  James,  like  Jesus,  had  not  "  where  to  lay  his 
head."  That  is,  had  no  house  of  his  own.  Besides  their 
home,  if  they  had  one,  was  in  distant  Galilee,  and  the 
ble?sed  Jesus  doubtless  desired  his  mother  to  continue  at 
Jerusalem,  at  least  for  the  present.  Therefore  Jesus  com- 
mended his  mother  to  John,  who,  belonging  to  a  family  of 
means,  had,  as  history  states,  purchased  a  house  in  Jerusa- 
lem, and  was  prepared  to  take  care  of  the  one  who  was 
thenceforth  to  be  called  blessed  by  all  nations.  The 
brethren  of  Jesus  first  appear  in  Scripture  as  believers 
and  brethren  after  the  ascension.  "  Peter,  and  James, 
and  John,  and  Andrew,  Philip,  and  Thomas,  Bartholomew, 
and  Matthew,  James  the  son  of  Alpheus,  and  Simon  Ze- 
lotes,  and  Judas  the  brother  of  James.  These  all  contin- 
ued with  one  accord  in  prayer  and  supplication,  with  the 
women,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and  with  his  breth- 


niSTORICAL    TESTIMONY    TO    JAMES    THE    LORD'S   BROTHER.    45 

ren,"  Acts  1 :  14.  In  a  little  while  James  is  chosen  head 
of  the  apostolic  college,  in  the  Jerusalem  church.  For- 
merly the  order  was — 

"  Peter,  James  and  John;"  but  now  it  is 
"  James,  Cephas  and  John." 

A  name  precedes  Peter's  in  the  apostolic  college.  It 
is  James  the  Lord's  brother.  James  becomes  foremost  of 
the  Apostles.  Paul  says,  "I  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  see 
Peter  and  other  of  the  apostles,  saw  I  none  save  James 
the  Lord's  brother."  Gal.  1  :  19.  To  James  (after  the 
death  of  James  the  brother  of  John,  Acts  12:  2-7)  Peter 
reports  himself  when  delivered  from  prison.  James  pre- 
sides, and  pronounces  the  sentence  in  the  apostolic  coun- 
cil, James  after  the  twelve,  sees  Christ.  Acts  15:  19; 
21:  18.     Gal.  1  ;  19:  2:    14.  1  Cor.  15:  7. 

HISTORICAL    TESTIMONY   TO   JAMES    THE    LORD'S    BROTHER. 

Hegesippus  says,  "That  St.  James  being  sanctified 
"from  the  womb,  abjured  all  the  ordinary  satisfactions 
"of  life,  and  was  the  only  person  that  had  free  access  in- 
"  to  the  Holy  of  Holies.  So  assiduously  did  he  offer  up 
"his  supplications  in  behalf  of  the  peoi:)le,  that  his  knees 
"  grew  callous  like  a  camel's.  He  was  also  surnamed  Ob- 
"lias,  denoting  him  the  bulwark  of  the  people,  and  a 
"  most  eminent  example  of  righteousness.  He  asserted 
"so  generously,  and  proved  so  clearly,  the  truth  of  the 
"Christian  religion,  that  the  joint  endeavors  of  the  seven 
"  sects  of  the  Jews  prevented  not  his  proselyting  a  great 
"number,  even  of  the  Sanhedrim  ;  which  so  disturbed  and 
"  exasperated  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  that  they  accost- 
"  ed  St.  James  in  a  body,  requiring  him  as  he  would  an- 
"swerhisown  illustrious  and  authoritative  character,  he 
"  would  publicly  from  the  top  of  the  temple,  upon  the 
"next  passover,  undeceive  the  people  as  to  the  general 
"mistake  concerning  Jesus.  The  day  being  come,  and 
"  the  holy  man  placed  aloft  upon  the  temple,  the  rabbis 
"after  they  had  passed  their  compliments  of  derision  upon 
"  him,  and  besought  him  that  he  would  use  his  authority 
"to  convince  the  multitude  of  their  error,  in  their  having 
"  embraced  the  Christian  belief;  St.  James  replied  aloud 


46  CIlUllCH    HISTORY. 

"'  Why  do  you  inquire  concerning  Jesus^  the  Son  of  man? 
'"'' He  is  seated  in  lieaven  at  the  rig.it  Itand  of  Omnipo- 
^^tence,  and  shall  come  agoin  in  ihe  clouds  of  lieaven? 
"At  this  profession,  hosaiiiuihs  were  echoed  below,  to 
"Jesus,  the  Son  of  David;  and  the  Scribes  and  the  Phar- 
"isees,  now  more  tlian  ever  enraged  at  so  mischievous  a 
"  disappointment,  ran  up  to  the  top  of  the  temple,  in  a 
"strong  tumultuous  manner,  and  threw  him  oft';  but  lite 
"  rennuning  in  him  after  the  fall,  so  that  he  was  able  to 
"pray  for  his  persecutors,  in  the'words  of  our  Savior,  not- 
"  withstanding  the  intercessions  of  one  of  the  priests  of 
"  the  children  of  Rechab,  they  began  to  stone  him,  and  at 
"last  his  brains  were  dashed  out  with  a  fuller's  club.  So 
"fell  ihis  blessed  martyr,  and  was  buried  u])on  the  place 
"  where  his  column  is  still  standing.  For  whose  memory 
"the  most  sensible  of  the  Jews,  and  particularly  Josephus, 
"had  so  serious  a  veneration,  that  they  imputed  the  final 
"vengeance,  which  soon  overtook  Jerusalem,  to  the  crying 
"of  his  righteous  blood;  as  they  did  likewise  the  disgrace. 
"Ananus,  the  high  priest,  who  had  seized  the  advantage 
"*  *  to  have  St.  James  and  some  others  dispatched  out 
"of  the  way."     ii.  63. 

This  agrees  with  Eusebius  who  says,  "Ananus  called 
"a  council  together,  with  the  assistance  of  the  judges,  to 
"  cite  James,  the  brother  of  Jesus,  which  was  called  Christ, 
"with  some  others,  to  appear  before  them,  and  answer  to 
"a  charge  of  blasphemy,  and  breach  of  the  law;  where- 
"upon  they  were  condemned,  and  delivered  up  to  be 
"stoned."  And  Josephus  says:  "These  things  (calami- 
"  ties  of  the  Jews)  happened  to  them  by  way  of  aveng- 
"  ing  the  death  of  James  the  Just,  the  brother  of  Jesus, 
"  whom  they  call  Christ,  for  the  Jews  slew  him,  though  a 
"  very  just  man." 

Eusebius  says,  book  ii.  7th  line,  "James  the  Just  the 
"brother  of  the  Lord  being  the  son  of  Joseph,  had  the 
"  honor  to  be  consecrated  the  first  bishop  of  Jerusalem, 
"without  any  emulation  on  the  part  of  Peter  and  John, 
"though  they  had  equally  shared  with  him  the  episcopal 
"  favor  of  our  Lord,  and  received  the  gnosis  or  knowledge 
"  from  him  after  his  resurrection,  which  the  other  apostles 
"  and  the  seventy  disciples  derived  from  these  three.  This 
"was  that  St.  James  mentioned  in  Gal.  1  :  19,  not  he  that 
"  was  beheaded."  Again  :  "  After  the  martyrdom  of 
"James   and   the   destruction    of  Jerusalem,  report  goea 


HISTORICAL    TESTIMONY    TO    JAMES    THE    LORD's    BROTHER.      47 

"that  the  apostles  and  disciples  of  our  Lord  who  were  yet 
"alive  met  together  in  the  same  place,  together  with  the 
"Ivinsmen  of  our  Lord,  according  to  the  flesh,  for  many  of 
"them  hitherto  survived,  and  that  all  these  held  a  consul- 
"  tation  in  common,  who  should  be  adjudged  worthy  to 
"succeed  James;  and  moreover  that  all,  with  one  consent, 
"  approved  of  Simeon  the  son  of  Cleopas,  of  whom  the 
"history  of  the  gospel  makes  mention,  to  be  worthy  of 
"the  Episcopal  seat  there;  which  Simeon,  as  they  say, 
"was  cousin  (aveipiov)  to  our  Savior,  for  Hegesippus  relates 
"  that  Cleopas  was  brother  of  Joseph."     Book  iii.  69. 

Valesius,  the  Roman  commentator  on  Eusebius,  has 
this  note  :  "Many  of  the  ancient  writers  affirm  that  James, 
"the  brother  of  our  Lord,  he  that  was  ordained  the  first 
"  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  was  not  of  the  number  ot  the  twelve 
"apostles.  Lideed,  Paul  (1  Cor.  15:  7)  seems  to  favor 
"this  opinion,  when,  reckoning  up  those  to  whom  Christ 
"appeared  after  his  death,  alter  he  had  named  the  twelve 
"  and  five  hundred  others,  says,  '  After  that  he  was  seen  of 
"James."' 

Paul.  The  most  remarkable  of  all  the  apostles  was 
Paul.  Velut  inter  ignes  Luna  minores^  (as  the  moon  among 
the  smaller  stars).  He  commenced  his  career  as  an  an- 
tagonist to  the  Christians,  "  breathing  out  threatenings 
and  slaughter;"  by  his  learning,  his  standing  in  the  Jew- 
ish Sanhedrim,  a  Pharisee  of  the  Pharisees,  his  privilege 
as  a  Roman  citizen,  a  man  of  learning,  endowed  b  na- 
ture with  a  burning  zeal  and  irresistible  eloquence;  he 
passed  through  the  world  as  a  whirlwind,  and  a  fire.  Llis 
conversion  was  sudden  and  so  remarkable,  that  the  consid- 
eration of  it  has  won  some  of  the  most  skeptical  to  the 
faith.  To  propagate  the  religion  he  once  destroyed,  he 
devoted  his  untiring  energies.  Scarcely  had  the  scales 
fallen  from  his  eyes  after  his  conversion,  before  he  mighti- 
ly convinces  the  enemies  of  the  gospel  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  Son  of  God.  He  preaches  in  Damascus,  Jerusalem, 
Arabia,  Syria,  Antioch,  Ephesus,  Philippi,  Macedonia,  Cor- 
inth, Athens,  and  Rome.  He  faces  the  judges  on  Mars' 
Hill  and  an  Areopagite  is  converted.  He  contends  with 
the  Philosophers,  and  they  are  confounded.     He  baptizes 


48  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

the  Jailer  at  midnight.  He  lights  tlie  wild  beasts  at  Eph- 
esus.  He  preached  the  gospel  at  Rome  under  the  Pagans, 
as  no  Protestant  minister  ventures  to  do  under  the  Popes. 

Paul's  appeal  to  Cassar  terminated  favorably.  He  then 
preached  in  Italy,  from  whence  he  wrote  to  the  Hebrews? 

"  Know  ye  that  our  brother  Timothy  is  set  at  liberty  ; 
with  whom,  if  he  come  shortly,  I  will  see  you.  Salute  all 
them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and  all  the  saints.  They 
of  Italy  salute  you.  Grace  be  with  you  all.  Amen.  Written 
to  the  Hebrews  from  Italy  by  Timothy."     Heb.  13 :  23. 

It  is  quite  probable  from  Phil.  2  :  24  ;  1  Tim.  1  :  3  ;  16 : 
IT;  2  Tim.  4:  20;  Tit.  1 :  5  ;  3  :  20,  that  he  returned  to 
Macedonia  and  Asia  Minor,  where  he  was  ajiprehended. 
He  suffered  under  Nero,  at  Eome. 

Paul  wrote  his  own  history,  living  epistles  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  and  sealed  his  testimony  with  his 
blood.  Being  a  Roman  cilizen,  he  could  not  be  tortured, 
but  was  beheaded  at  Rome,  in  the  Ostian  road,  the  be- 
ginning of  June,  A.  D.  68. 

TRADITIONARY    PICTURES    OF    ST.  PAUL 

describe  him  as  of  strong,  marked,  and  prominent  fea- 
tures standing  out  from  a  Grecian  head,  forming  an 
elegant  contemplative  countenance;  with  transparent 
complexion,  bright  gray  eyes,  thin  beard,  bald  head, 
heavy  eyebrows ;  with  a  most  interesting  and  winning 
open-hearted  expression ;  but  with  a  body  of  diminutive 
stature,  l\me,  and  distorted.  Such  was  the  man  who 
fought  the  good  fight,  and  showed  the  world  how  much 
one  man  could  do  for  his  God,  his  Clirist,  and  humanity. 

The  Apostolic  College  stands  as  follows: 

Twelve  apostles,  first  chosen.     Matt.  10  :  2.  , 

Thirteen,  Matthias  chosen  at  Pentecost. 

Fourteen,  Paul. 

Fifteen,  Barnabas  was  added.    "The  apostles,  Barnabas 
and  Paul."     (Acts  14ri4.) 


SACRED   BOOKS   OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  49 

Sixteen,  James  was  added.  "  Other  of  the  apostles 
saw  I  none,  save  James  the  Lord's  brother."     (Gal.  1:  19.) 

Seventeen,  Silvanus  was  added.  "We  might  have  been 
burdensome,  as  the  apostles  of  Christ."  (1  Thess.  1 :  1, 
and  2:  6.) 

Eighteen,  Timothens  finally,  was  added,  (ibid.)  "Paul 
and  Salvanus  and  Timotheus  unto  the  church  of  the  Thes- 
salonians ;"  "  When  we  might  have  been  burdensome  as 
the  apostles  of  Christ."     1  Thess.  1 :  1 ;  2  :  6. 

SACRED   BOOKS   OF   THE   NPJW   TESTAMENT. 

The  word  canon,  Greek  Kavo)v  (kanon),  in  the  Scrip- 
tures never  means  a  supposed  "  rule  hy  which  Scripture  is 
to  he  determined'!''  or  measured;  but  it  means  the  Scrip- 
tures themselves  :  they  are  the  canon,  or  the  rule,  by 
by  which  we  are  to  measure  and  govern  ourselves. 

2  Cor.  10 :  13.  "  We  dare  not  make  ourselves  of  the  num- 
ber, or  compare  ourselves  with  some  that  commend  them- 
selves :  but  they,  measuring  themselves,  by  themselves,  and 
comparing  themselves  among  themselves,  are  not  wise. 
We  will  not  boast  of  things  without  our  measure,  but  ac- 
cording to  the  measure  of  the  rule  Kavovog  (ka7ionos)  which 
God  hath  distributed  to  us,  a  measure  to  reach  even  unto 
you.     For  we  stretch  not  ourselves  beyond  our  measure." 

The  apostle  was  careful  to  be  guided  by  the  divine 

rule,  i.  e.,  the  canon. 

2  Cor.10  :  16.  "Having  hope,  when  your  faith  is  increased,, 
that  we  shall  be  enlarged  by  you  according  to  our  rule 
abundantly,  not  to  boast  in  another  man's  line  (kuvovl  )." 

Here  "another  man's  rule"  does  not  mean,  the  other's- 
field  of  labor,  but  the  other's  rule  of  action.  The  Greek 
is  aXXorpiG) Kavovi^  another  rule\  i.  e.,  Paul  did  not  work  by 
the  false  teacher's  rule. 

Phil.  3 :  16.  Whereto  we  have  already  attained,  let  us 
walk  by  the  same  rule. 

Gal.  6 :  16.  As  many  as  walk  according  to  this  rule 
{cano7i)  peace  be  on  them. 

The  word  canon    therefore  in  the  Scripture,  is   not  a 
4 


50  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

rule  for  us  to  determine  Scripture  by,  but  the  Scripture 
rule  to  determine  our  life. 

The  inspired  canon  is  the  Wcrd  of  God  itself.  The  his- 
torical canon  is  the  catalogue  of  the  books.  The  first  is 
the  rule  of  our  lives;  the  last  is  man's  catalogue  of  the 
rule.  The  catalogue  canon  bears  the  same  relation  to  the 
books,  that  a  family  record  does  to  the  family.  To  say 
there  is  no  certainty  as  to  which  of  the  books  are  of  God, 
because  two  or  three  minor  ones  have  not  been  named  in 
some  sectional  catalogue,  though  the  church  universal 
held  them  all  sacred,  is  like  a  stranger  cutting  off  some  be- 
loved children  from  a  family,  because  a  few  relatives  or 
strangers  at  some  time  omitted  their  names.  The  Jews  of 
to-day  receive  and  defend  the  same  books  of  the  Old  Cov- 
enant that  we  do.  They  are  the  "Israelites  to  whom  per- 
taineth  the  adoption,  and  the  glory,  and  the  covenants, 
and  the  giving  of  the  law,  and  the  service  of  God,  and  the 
promises."  That  they  understood  well  what  books  they 
were  in  the  days  of  our  Savior,  is  evident  to  all  who  read 
the  New  Testament.  The  Christians  reject  the  Apocryphal 
Books  because  our  Savior  and  his  apostles  never  indorse 
them  by  quoting  from  them ;  because  they  were  some  of 
them  written  after,  and  quote  the  New  Testament  (see 
2  Tim.  3  :  8,  and  Jude  9-14) :  because  Josephus  and  all 
the  fathers  omit  them;  because  they  were  never  received 
by  any  Bible  Christians  as  inspired ;  and  because  the  wri- 
ter in  the  close  says,  "If  I  have  done  well  and  as  fitting 
the  story,  it  is  that  which  I  desired :  but  if  sle^iderly  and 
meanly  it  is  that  which  I  could  attain  to ;"  thus  disclaim- 
ing inspiration.  The  Christians  who  recognize  Christ  as 
our  Lord,  require  no  higher  authority  for  the  Old  Scrip- 
tures than  his  word.  He  calls  those  "  Fools  wlio  are  slow 
to  helieve  all  that  the  prophets  Jiave  8pohe7i.^^  Questions 
about  the  plenary  inspiration  of  the  historical  books  are 
not  essential.  Criminations  on  such  questions  are  perni- 
cious. If  any  books  are  quoted  which  are  unknown 
to  us,  this  does  not  lessen  our  obligations  to  obey  those 


SACRKD    BOOKS    OP    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT.  51 

■which  remain.  It  would  hardly  excuse  one  for  murdering 
his  neighbor,  to  plead  that  there  were  some  laws  which 
are  now  lost.  "The  canon  of  the  New  Testament  is  (not) 
now  an  open  question."  What  books  constitute  it  are 
•well  understood.  Luther's  word,  calling  the  Epistle  of 
James  an  epistle  of  straw,  is  not  worth  a  straw.  We  can 
spare  Luther,  but  we  can  not  spare  James.  We  can  spare 
Justin,  but  we  can  not  spare  James.  If  Justin  Martyr  did 
not  know  of  the  Gospel  of  Jchn,  we  are  certain  that  oth- 
ers did.  But  if  he  did  not,  what  then?  We  are  not  to  be 
exploitered  on  Justin's  ignorance.  We  can  not  appeal  from 
many  men  who  do  know  a  fact,  to  one  who  does  not  know 
it.  Nor  is  it  certain  that  Justin  did  not  know  it.  The 
probabilities  are  that  he  did.  In  any  case  neither  Justin's 
ignorance,  nor  our  ignorance  of  Justin's  knowledge,  can 
be  legitimate  arguments  against  the  universal  testimony 
of  history. 

THE   NEW   TESTAMENT — DIATHEKE. 

This  name  is  not,  in  Scripture,  applied  to  the  writings 
which  are  now  called  the  Testament,  but  to  the  Cove- 
nant, or  God's  salvation  in  Christ,  of  which  the  gospel 
is  the  good  news.  The  books  of  the  New  Testament  are 
not  dependent  upon  each  other;  but  separate  books. 
The  gospel  of  tliis  New  Testament  was  first  chiefly  com- 
municated by  preaching ;  but  more  fully  in  books,  each 
book  containing  all  knowledge  absolutely  essential  to  salva- 
tion. These  books,  four  in  number,  were  published :  one 
in  Judea.*  one  in  Alexandria,!  one  at  Antioch,J  and  one  at 
Ephesus.§    Copies  of  these  were  circulated  in  other  parts. 

The  epistles  were  letters  of  instruction,  and  remained 
for  a  long  time  with  the  churches  or  persons  to  whom 
they  were  directed.  These  writings,  thus  scattered 
abroad  in  small  books,  were  regarded  as  inspired  scrip- 
tures ;  but  no  one  person  could  know  how  many  there 

"■Matthew.  t^ark.       JLuke.       gJohn. 


62  CHURCH  HISTORY. 

were  of  them,  or  where  they  all  were,  or  which  of  them 
were  regarded  by  the  churches  as  inspired,  until  the  books 
were  collected,  or  at  least  a  knowledge  of  them  was 
gained.  The  proper  authorities  to  judge  of  their  authen- 
ticity were  the  persons  or  the  churches  which  received 
them,  or  knew  their  authors.  None  of  these  have  ever 
doubted  or  denied  the  authenticity  or  inspiration  of  the 
books,  but  they  have  been  uniform  in  their  defense. 

OBJECTIONS   ACCOUNTED   FOR. 

Neither  the  Jews  nor  the  seven  churches  of  Asia  ever 
opposed  Revelation,  or  the  Epistles  of  John.  But  the  Gnos- 
tics  rejected   Matthew's    account   of  the   birth  of  Christ. 
James  and  Jude  remained  long  known  only  to  the  Jewish 
Church.      And     Eevelation    contained    much   about  the 
"twelve  tribes,"   and  the  "New  Jerusalem,"  obnoxious  to 
the  Gentiles,  after  the  downfall   of  the  Jews  ;  which  ac- 
counts for  its  slow  reception  among  the  Gentiles,  till  they 
had  a  certain  knowledge  of  its  origin.     There  is  nothing 
new  under  the  sun.     History  is  ever  repeating  itself.    The 
honest  historian  of  the  first  three  centuries  faithfully  re- 
cords the  books  received  as  canonical ;  but  at  the  same 
time  places  in  the  first  list  those  to  which  no  one  objects, 
and  in  a  second  list  those  which  though  received  gener- 
ally, some  object  to,  or  reject.    To  these  isolated  cases  the 
skeptic  mind  ever  turns  back,  and  then  forever  and  ever 
returns  to  the  advancing  generations  with  the  news  of  the 
old   exploded   objections.     The   following  authorities  will 
give  the  reader  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  great  uniformity 
with  which  the  books  of  the  Bible  were  received  in  the 
early  ages,  when  the  difficulty  of  becoming  well  acquaint- 
ed with  them    may  well  account  for  even  more  being  ob- 
jected to,  without  at  all  impairing  the  divine  authority  of 
the  books.     The  following  is  a  catalogue  of  the  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  as  they  existed  in  the  days   of  the   Savior 
Josephus  has  left  a  record  of  the  books  which  agrees  with 
this.     Also,  the  catalogue  of  Melito,  a  Christian  of  the  sec- 


THE   BOOKS    OF    THE   OLD   AND    NEW    TESTAMENT.  53 

end  century,  agrees  with,  this,  if  he  includes  Esther  in 
the  book  of  the  smaller  prophets,  as  is  supposed. 

THE    BOOKS    OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT. 

GENESIS,  EXODUS,  LEVITICUS,  NUMBERS,  DEUTERONOMY,  JOSHUA, 
JUDGES,  RUTH,  I.  SAMUEL,  II.  SAMUEL,  I.  KINGS,  II.  KINGS,  I.  CHRON- 
ICLES, II.  CHRONICLES,  EZRA,  NEHExMIAH,  ESTHER,  JOB,  PSALMS, 
PROVERBS,  ECCLESIASTES,  THE  SONG  OF  SOLOMON,  ISAIAH,  JER- 
EMIAH, LAMENTATIONS,  EZEKIEL,  DANIEL,  HOSEA,  JOEL,  AMOS, 
OBADIAH,  JONAH,  MICAH,  NAHUM,  HABAKKUK,  ZEPHANIAH,  HAQ- 
GAI,    ZECHARIAH,    MALACHI.      39    Books. 

The  Jews  of  this  day  adhere  to  the  same  books. 

The  following  books  were  written  by  the  apostles,  and 
first  inspired  disciples  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  wit- 
nessed by  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  miracles,  and  by  the  godly 
martyrs  and  holy  men  who  were  acquainted  with  the 
apostles  and  conversed  with  those  who  were  acquainted 
with  them. 

THE   BOOKS   OP   THE    NEW   TESTAMENT. 

MATTHEW,  MARK,  LUKE,  JOHN,  THE  ACTS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 
ROMANS,  I.  CORINTHIANS,  II.  CORINTHIANS,  GALATIANS,  EPHESIANS, 
PHILIPPIANS,  COLOSSIANS,  I.  THESSALONIANS,  II.  THES8AL0NIANS, 
I.  TIMOTHY,  II.  TIMOTHY,  TITUS,  PHILEMON,  HEBREWS,  EPISTLE  OP 
JAMES,  I.  PETER,  II.  PETER,  I.  JOHN,  IL  JOHN,  III.  JOHN,  JUDE, 
REVELATION.      27.    Tu   all,  66. 

CATALOGUE   OF   THE   BOOKS    AS   PvECEIVED    AT   VARIOUS   TIMES. 

A.  D.  210.  Origen.  He  probably  inadvertently  omitted 
James  and  Jude  from  his  list,  as  he  owns  them  in  other 
writings.     With  these  it  agrees  with  ours. 

A.  D.  315.  EusEBius.  His  catalogue  is  the  same  as  ours, 
though  he  makes  mention  that  some  omitted  James,  Jude, 
2  Peter,  and  2  and  3  John. 

A.  D.  315.  Athanasius.     His  agrees  perfectly  with  ours. 

A.  I).  340.  Cyril.  The  same  as  ours,  except  the  book 
of  Revelation. 

A.  D.  o64.  The  Council  of  Laodicea.  This  is  the  same 
as  ours,  Revelation  excepted. 


54  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

A.  D,  370.  Epiphanius.     The  same  as  ours. 

A.  D.  375.  Gregory  Nazianzen.  The  same  as  ours,  Kev- 
elation  excepted. 

A.  D.  380.  Philastrius.  The  same  as  ours,  except  He- 
brews and  Revelation, 

A.  D.  382.  Jerome.  The  same  as  ours.  He  speaks  doubt- 
fully of  Hebrews,  but  in  other  writings  receives  it  as  can- 
onical. 

A.  D.  390.  RuFFiN.     Perfectly  agrees  with  ours. 

A.  D.  394.  Austin.     Agrees  perfectly  with  ours. 

A.  D.  390.  The  Third  Council  of  Carthage.  It  perfectly 
agrees  with  ours. 

A.  D.  390.  DiONYSius.     Perfectly  agrees  with  ours. 

Of  these  authorities,  Origen,  of  A.  D.  200,  and  Eusebi- 
us,  of  275,  and  the  better  informed  and  most  reliable  of  the 
first  part  and  the  last,  received  all  the  books.  Origen  and 
Eusebius  were  the  best  informed  and  most  reliable  men 
of  that  age,  and  had  access  to  the  writings  of  such  men 
as  Papias,  and  of  Clement,  of  A.  D.  70,  men  who  knew 
the  apostles  and  who  fully  indorsed  these  books  ;  Papias 
speaking  of  the  "blessed  men"  who  bore  witness  to  the 
"  divine  inspiration "  of  Revelation ;  and  Clement  using 
Hebrews  largely  in  his  work.  As  men  became  acquainted 
with  these  writings,  they  confessed  their  testimony  ;  and  as 
the  books  became  better  known,  they  established  their 
own  title  to  inspiration. 

St.  Luke  gives  the  manner  in  which  the  New  Testament 
Scriptures  were  communicated  to  us,  when  he  says:  "For- 
asmuch as  many  have  taken  in  hand  to  set  forth  in  order 
a  declaration  of  those  things  which  are  most  surely  be- 
lieved among  us,  even  as  they  delivered  them  unto  us, 
which  from  the  beginning  were  eye-witnesses,  and  minis- 
ters of  the  word."  (1:  1.)  Matthew  and  John  were  apos- 
tles and  eye-witnesses.  Mark  and  Luke  received  them 
from  others  in  the  days  of  inspiration.  After  these  follow 
a  great  cloud  of  witnesses,  called  "  apostolical  fathers," 
from  whose  testimony  I  have  selected  extracts,  brief,~Vet 


HISTORICAL   TESTIMONY.  55 

sufficient,  and  all  found  in  the  one  old  reliable  historian, 
Eusebius,  of  A.  D.  300.  I  use  the  quarto  edition  of  Euse- 
bius,  Socrates,  Sozomen,  and  Theodoret.  •  The  pages  con- 
tinue on  from  book  to  book. 

HISTORICAL    TESTIMONY   TO    THE   NEW   TESTAMENT   BOOKS. 

"MATTHEW  (A.  D.  41)  wrote  his  Gospel  in  Hebrew." 
Papias,  (A.  D.  75.)     Euseb.  iii.  75. 

"Matthew  and  Luke  were  penned  before  the  others.' 
Clement.     (A.  D.  191.)  Euseb.  vi.  109. 

"  Universally  acknowledged."     Euseb.  300.  iii.  75. 

MAEK.  (A.  D.  50.)  "Mark's  Gospel  which  he  afterward 
preached  in  Egypt."  Papias,  (A.  D,  75.)  Euseb.  ii.  59. 

"The  divine  authority  of  the  four  gospels,"  Origen^  (A. 
D.  200.)  Euseb.  vi.  105. 

"  Have  ever  been  universally  acknowledged."  Euseb.  (A. 
D.  300.)  iii.  71. 

LUKE.  (A.  D.  50.)  "Matthew  and  Luke  were  penned 
before  the  others."     Clement,  (A.  D.  191.)  Euseb.  vi.  109. 

Origen  wrote  commentaries  on  Luke.  Euseb.  (A.  D.  200.) 
vi.  105. 

"Universally  acknowledged."Euseb.  (A.  D.  300.)  iii.  71. 

JOHN.  (A.  D.  68.)  "He  asserted  the  divine  authentic- 
ity of  the  four  gospels."  Ire}iceus,(A.  D.  203)  Euseb.  v.  93. 

"  St.  John  added  his  in  the  last  place."  Clement^  (A.  D. 
191.)  Euseb.  vi.  109. 

"The  Gospel  of  St.  John  has  been  at  all  times  univer- 
sally acknowledged."    Euseb.  (A.  D.  300.)  iii.  7L 

"  Divine  authority  of  the  four  gospels."  Origen^  (A.  D. 
200.)  Euseb.  v.  105. 

ACTS.  (A.  D.  64.)  "The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  which 
was  written  by  St.  Luke,  an  Antiochian  by  birth."  Euseb. 
(A.  D.  300.)  iii.  71. 

"Accuses  heretics  of  'Rejecting  the  Acts.'"  Miisanus 
{k.  D.  250.)  Euseb.  iv.  87. 

PAUL'S  EPISTLES.   (A.  D.   50-64.)  "The  Epistles  of 


56  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Paul  he  speaks  of  in  general."  Origen^  (A.  D.  200.)  Euseb. 
vi.  105. 

"  Hebrews  most  probably,  and  according  to  general 
tradition  by  Paul.   Or'igen,  (A.  D.  200.)  Euseb.  vi.  105. 

"It  is  probable  that  the  epistle  was  written  by  St. 
Paul."  Clement  A.,  (A.  D.  171.)  Euseb.  vi.  109. 

"  Clement  R.  has  frequent  quotations  from  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews."  Euseb.  (A.  D.  300.)  ii.  76. 

TIMOTHY  with  the  other  thirteen  are  universally  re- 
ceived as  canonical."  Euseb.  (A.  D.  300.)  iii.  65. 

"Musanus  accuses  heretics  of  denying  St.  Paul's  Epis- 
tles.-' Euseb.  (A.  D.  300.)  iv.  87. 

JAMES  AND  JUDE.  (A.  D.  60-66.)  "There  is  a  cer- 
tain catholic  epistle  written  by  James  which  as  also  that 
of  Jude,  though  not  mentioned  by  many  of  the  ancients, 
is  certainly  canonical."     Euseb.  (A.  D.  300.)  ii.  63. 

"Generally  received."  Euseb.  (A.  D.  300.)  ii.  m. 

I.  PETER.  (A.  D.  60.)  "The  first  is  undoubted,  and 
quoted  by  the  ancients  as  such."  Euseb.  (A.  D.  300.)  iii.  65. 

II.  PETER.  (A.  D.  m.)  "A  very  competent  number  of 
vouchers  have  declared  to  be  of  divine  authority."  Euseb. 
(A.  D.  300.)  iii.  m. 

"  The  second  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  and  the  second  and 
third  of  St.  John,  he  (  Origen)  allows  as  canonical."  Euseb. 
(A.  D.  300.)  vi.  105. 

I.  JOHN.  (A.  D.  90.)  "The  divine  authority  of  the  first 
Epistle  of  St  John,  and  also  his  second  has  been,  the  first 
universally,  the  last  sufiiciently  acknowledged.''  Euseb. 
(A.  D.  300.)  iii.  QQ. 

Irenagus  asserted  "The  authority  of  St.  John's  Revela- 
tion and  first  Epistle."  Irmceus,  (A.  D.  203.)  Euseb.  vi.  93. 
REVELATION.  (A.D.90.)  "Sufficiently  acknowledged." 
Euseb.  iii.  66. 

"  St.  John  the  Apostle  wrote  the  Revelation."  Irecenus, 
Euseb.  iv.  85. 

Milito  wrote  on  "the  Revelation  of  St.  John."  (A. ^P. 
203.)  Euseb.  iv.  86. 


CHARACTER   OF   WITNESSES.  67 

"Irenseus  asserted  (he  authority  of  St.  John's  Revelation 
and  first  Epistle."     Euseb.  (A.  D.  300.)  v.  93. 

NEW  TESTAMENT.  "  The  Books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment."    Theotecnns,  (A.  D.  253.)  Euseb.  vii.  121. 

BIBLE.  "  Diocletian  commanding  the  Bibles  to  be 
burnt."  (A.  D.  284.)  Euseb.  viii.  130. 

If  any  ask  what  council  has  declared  these  canonical, 
I  answer  in  the  words  of  Jesus,  "Flesh  and  blood  hath 
not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heav- 
en." Do  you  reply,  "  When  they  saw  him,  they  wor- 
shiped him  :  but  some  doubted,"  yet  Jesus'  words  are 
true,  "  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  words 
shall  not  pass  away."  "What  if  some  did  not  believe? 
Shall  their  unbelief  make  the  faith  of  God  without  eifect?' 
God  forbid:  yea,  let  God  be  true,  but  every  man  a  liar." 
The  word  of  God  does  not  depend  on  priests  or  popes,  or 
council  or  conference.  In  this  table  I  have  referred  to  but 
one  historian,  not  because  it  would  have  been  more  troub- 
le to  have  referred  to  many  promiscuously ;  but  because 
this  one,  viz.,  Eusebius,  is  the  most  ancient,  and  the  best  au- 
thority, and  I  desired  to  make  the  table  concise. 

CHARACTER  OF   THESE    WITNESSES. 

"  I  will  make  a  man  more  precious  than  fine  gold;  even  a  man  than  the 
golden  wedge  of  Ophir." 

Precious  were  the  men  who  immediately  succeeded  the 
apostles.  Without  the  inspiration  which  animated  the  apos- 
tles ;  without  the  visible  communion  with  God  which 
Moses  had ;  they  had  to  face  greater  dangers,  and  make 
more  sacrifices  than  any  equal  number  of  men  who  had 
ever  lived,  at  any  former  period.  The  pastors,  some  of 
whom  will  be  presented  in  this  chapter,  became  Christians, 
and  presided  over  Christian  churches  long  before  the  rise 
of  anj"  form  of  sectarianism.  When  Christians  wereout- 
l?'?;ed ;  by  Jews  called  heretics;  and  by  pagans,  atheists  and 
sorcerers;  liable  to  be  murdered  at  any  time  by  an  infuriated 
rabble,  or  even  to  be  put  to  death  by  the  cruel  and  unjust 


68  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

laws;  they  embraced  lives  of  pious  devotion,  self-denial, 
and  sacrifice,  fasting  and  persecution,  suffering  and  con- 
tumely, to  labor  for  the  good  of  others  and  the  glory  of 
God ;  with  the  prospect  of  a  violent  death,  by  the  sword, 
the  stake,  or  devouring  beasts,  ever  before  them.  0th 
ers,  hundreds  of  years  after  the  hard  battle  has  been  fought, 
enter  upon  the  fruits  of  their  labors,  and  while  lolling  in 
luxurj'-,  delicately  criticise,  with  much  affectation,  those  no- 
ble martyrs,  and  blame  their  forwardness  to  invite  death  in 
the  cause  of  their  blessed  Master.  But  had  those  men  been 
of  the  effeminate  time-serving  type  of  those  who  censure 
them  Christianity  would  never  have  been  planted  in  the 
earth ;  and  these  very  ministers  might  have  been  pagan 
priests,  or  expounders  of  wizard  oracles.  The  Christian 
ministers  who  succeeded  the  apostles  were  men  of  heavenly 
virtue  ;  without  sectarian  bigotry.  They  had  courage  with- 
out indiscretion,  and  carefulness  without  fear.  They  guard- 
ed their  iiocks  as  good  shepherds,  and  led  them  in  every 
virtue.  They  were  "Marshals"  greater  than  Napoleon's  ;  of 
an  army  greater  than  the  ''  Guard."  No  stain  tarnishes  their 
fair  fame.  Their  garments  of  righteousness  are  whiter 
than  the  falling  snow.  Some  of  them  were  celebrated  alone 
for  the  greatness  of  goodness;  and  some  added  the  charms 
of  intellectual  endowments;  but  all  were  noble,  heavenly 
minded,  bold,  fearless,  and  pure;  adorning  every  truth 
of  virtue  or  faith  with  the  unblemished  luster  of  their 
heavenly  character.  They  instructed  their  flocks  faithfully, 
truly,  fervently  and  affectionately;  ever  more  careful  to 
promote  faith  than  to  please  the  fancy,  to  prepare  for  sac- 
rifice than  encourage  earthly  hope;  ready  to  "depart  on 
the  morrow,"  by  any  road  that  would  lead  soonest  to  glory. 

THE    APOSTOLIC    FATHERS. — THE    WITNESSES. 

Clement,  the  companion  of  Paul  (Phil.  4 :  ?>),  was 
among  the  first  missionaries  of  the  Jerusalem  Churcli  H^- 
was  the  fourth  pastor,  or  bishop,  of  the  Christian  CKurcb 


EXAMPLES    FROM    CLEMENT.  69 

at  Rome,  and  the  first  who  shed  any  luster  on  the  pastor- 
al office.     Dr.  Priestley  says  : 

"His  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  is  a  choice  relic  of  an- 
"tiquity.  Christ  he  designates  as  the  scepter  of  the  maj- 
"esty  of  God — Epis.  Sec,  15 — and  says,  that  the  blood  of 
"  Christ  has  obtained  the  grace  of  repentance  for  all  the 
"  world.  The  Lord  has  in  every  age  still  given  place  for  re- 
"pentance  to  such  as  would  turn  to  hira.  The  Ninevites,  re- 
"penting  of  their  sins,  appeased  God  by  their  prayers,  and 
"  were  saved,  though  they  were  strangers  to  the  covenant 
"  with  God,"     Corruptions  of  Christianity,  chap.  1  :  125. 

Of  all  Clement's  writing;  two  Epistles,  nineteen  Homi- 
lies, Recognitions,  Canons  of  the  Apostles,  and  Apostol- 
ical Constitution,  only  his  tirst  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians 
is  authentic.     Jerome  says  : 

"Clement,  in  behalf  of  the  Roman  Church,  wrote  a 
"  very  valuable  epistle  to  the  church  of  the  Corinthians, 
"  which  in  some  places  is  publicly  read,  and  which  seems  to 
"  me  to  correspond  in  character  very  much  to  the  epistle 
"  to  the  Hebrews,  which  is  circulated  under  the  name  of 
"Paul.  He  takes  many  things  from  that  epistle;  not  only 
"  in  meaning  but  in  the  words  themselves  there  is  a  great  si- 
"  militude  between  these."     Also  Euseb.  iii.  74. 

EXAMPLE    FROM    CLEMENT'S    FIRST    EPISTLE. 

"The  apostles  have  preached  to  us  from  our  Lord 
"  Jesus  Christ :  Jesus  Christ  from  God.  Christ  therefore 
"was  sent  by  God,  the  apostles  by  Christ:  so  both  were 
"  orderly  sent,  according  to  the  will  of  God,  For  having 
"  received  their  command,  and  being  thoroughly  assured 
"  by  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  Jesus  (^hrist,  and  con- 
"  vinced  by  the  word  of  God,  with  the  fullness  of  the  Holy 
"  Spirit,  they  went  abroad,  publishing.  That  the  kingdom 
"  of  God  was  at  hand.  And  thus  preaching  through  coun 
"tries  and  cities,  they  appointed  the  first  fruits  of  their 
"conversions  to  be  bishops  and  ministers- over  such  as 
"should  afterward  believe,  having  first  proved  them  by 
"  the  Spirit." 

EXAMPLES    OF    SCRIPTURE    REFERENCE    BY   CLEMENT. 

Luke  6:  36.  "Above  all  remembering  the  words  of 
"  the  Lord  Jesus,  which  he  spake  concerning  the  equity 
«  and  long-sufiering,  saying,  Be  ye  merciful,  and  ye  shall  ob- 


60  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"tain  mercy;  forgive,  and  ye  shall  be  forgiven  ;  as*  ye  do, 
"so  shall  it  be  done  unto  you;  as  ye  give,  so  shall  it  be 
"  given  unto  you  ;  as  ye  judge,  so  shall  ye  be  judged  ; 
"  as  ye  are  kind  to  others,  so  shall  God  be  kind  to  you ; 
"  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  with  the  same  shall  it  be 
"measured  to  you  again.''     Clement's  1  Epis.  to  Cor.  7  :  3. 

1  Peter  5:  5.  John  4  :  6.  "Godsaithhe  resisteth  the 
"proud,  but  giveth  grace  to  the  humble."  14:3.  1  Cor.  2 :  9. 
"  He  saith,  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have 
"entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  has 
"  prepared  for  them  that  wait  for  him."     Ihlcl  16  :  8. 

He  quotes  largely  from  Hebrews. 

Heb.  1  : 1-4.  "  By  him,"  (Christ)  "  who  being  the  bright- 
•'  ness  of  his  glory,  is  by  so  much  greater  than  the  angels,  as 
"he  has  by  inheritance  obtained  a  more  excellent  name  than 
"  they.  For  so  is  it  written,  AVho  maketh  his  angels  spir- 
"  its,  and  his  ministers  a  flame  of  lire.  But  to  his  Son,  thus 
"  saith  the  Lord,  Thou  art  my  Son,  to-day  have  I  begotten 
"thee.  Ask  of  me  and  I  will  give  thee  the  heathen  for 
"thine  inheritance,  and  the  utn.ost  parts  of  the  earth  for 
"  thy  possession.  And  again  he  saith  unto  him.  Sit  thou  on 
"my  right  hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool." 
Clement's  1  Epis.  to  Cor.  17:  18. 

He  quotes  to  the  Corinthians  Christ's  words. 

Luke  17:  2.  "Remember  the  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus, 
"how  he  said,  Woe  to  that  man  (by  whom  oftenses  come)  ; 
"  it  were  better  for  him  that  he  had  never  been  born,  than 
"  that  he  should  have  offended  one  of  my  elect.  It  were  bet- 
"terforhim  that  a  irillstone  should  be  tied  about  his  neck 
"  and  he  should  be  cast  into  the  sea,  than  that  he  should 
"offend  one  of  my  little  ones.  Your  schism  has  perverted 
"man}'',  has  discouraged  many:  it  has  caused  diffidence  in 
"  many,  and  grief  in  us  all."  Clement's  1  Epis.  to  Cor.  18  :  18. 

He  quotes  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  1  Cor.  1:  12. 

"'  Take  the  epistle  of  the  blessed  Paul,  the  apostle,  in- 
"  to  your  hands:  What  was  it  that  he  wrote  to  you  at  his 
"  first  preaching  the  gospel  among  you?  Verily  he  did  by 
"the  spirit  admonish  you  concerning  himself,  and  Cephas, 
"  and  Apollos  ;  because  that  even  then  ye  had  begun  to 
"  fall  into  parties  and  factions  among  yourselves."  Cle- 
ment's 1  Epis.  to  Cor.  18:  20. 

Malachi,  and  Pevelation  22  :  20. 

"The   Holy  Scripture  ilseif  bearing  witness,  that  He 


POLYCARP.  61 

• "  shall  quickly  come  and  not  iariy,  and  that  the  Lord  shall 
"  suddenly  come  to  his  temple." 

PoLYCARP  was  "  the  angel  of  the  church  at  Smyrna," 
(Rev.  2  :  8)  when  John  was  at  Patmos.  He  was  a  disci- 
ple of  John  A.  D.  80,  and  by  him  ordained  bishop  of  Smyr- 
na. He  was  martyred  A.  D.  166.  In  his  epistle  to  the 
Philippians,  A.  D.  107,  he  has  expressions  from  Matthew 
Luke,  Acts,  Philippians,  Ephesians,  Galatians,  Corinthians, 
Romans,  Thessalonians,  Colossians,  1  Timothy,  1  John, 
1  Peter,  and  Hebrews,  and  speaks  of  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians.  His  style  is  purely  evangelical.  Except  the 
epistle  to  the  Philippians,  his  writings  are  few  and  un- 
important;  but'  his  contention  with  Victor,  now  called  the 
fifteenth  Pope  of  Rome,  proves  that  he  thought  the  Roman 
bishop  quite  fallible,  and  that  it  was  right  and  godly  to  op- 
pose his  errors.  Eusebius,  iii.  74,  calls  him  "  the  immediate 
"  disciple  of  the  apostles,  and  by  them  made  bishop  of 
"Smyrna.  He  had  been  familiarly  conversant  with  the 
"  apostles,  and  received  the  government  of  the  church 
"  from  those  who  had  been  eye-witnesses  of  the  Lord. 
"Irengeus  says,  he  had  a  peculiar  delight  in  recounting 
"what  those  had  told  him  of  Christ  who  saw  him  in  the 
"flesh.  He  suffered  under  Marcus  Aurelius.  This  vener- 
"  able  servant  of  God  was  warned  in  a  dream  of  his  ap- 
"  preaching  fate,  and  said  to  his  brethren,  'I  must  be 
"  burned  alive.'  To  the  oflicers  who  came  to  take  him  he 
"  said,  '  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.'  He  ordered  them 
"meat  and  drink,  and  in  return  obtained  time  and  permis- 
"  sion  to  pray.  While  thus  engaged,  the  ofhcers  admiring 
"  his  venerable  age,  regretted  the  mission  on  which  they 
"had  come."  Eusebius  says,  "As  he  came  to  the  place,  a 
"voice  from  heaven  encouraged  him  saying,  '  0  Polycarp, 
"  be  strong  and  undaunted." 

"The  Proconsul  said,  'Have  pity  on  thy  own  great 
"  age.     Reproach  Christ,  and  I  will  release  thee.' 

"  Polycarp  replied,  '  Eighty  and  six  years  have  served 
"him,  and  he  hath  never  wronged  me.  How  then  can  I 
"  blaspheme  my  King  who  hath  saved  me?' 

"  Pro.  '  I  have  wild  beasts  ! ' 

"Pol.  'Let  them  come,  we  Christians  are  not  used  to 
«  change  from  better  to  worse,  but  from  bad  to  better.' 


62  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"Pro.  <  I  will  tame  your  spirit  by  fire  except  ye  repent.' 
"  Pol.  'You  threaten  nie  uitli  lire  which  burneth  lor  a 
"moment,  and  will  soon  be  extinct;  but  you  are  ignorant 
"of  the  future  judgment,  and  of  the  fire  of  eternal  pun- 
"  ishment  reserved  for  the  ungodly.' 

"Pro.  '  Swear,  curse  Christ,  and  I  will  release  thee.' 
"Pol.  'I  tell  you  frankly,  I  am  a  Christian.'" 
"By  the    Proconsul's   orders,    the   Herald   proclaimed, 
"  '  Polycarp  ha^h  professed  himself  a  Christian.' 
"  The  multitude  then  shouted, — 

"'This  is  the  Doctor  of  Asia,  the  father  of  the  Chris- 
"tians."' 

The  Jews  demanded  that  a  lion  should  be  set  upon 
him;  but  the  governor  refused.  He  was  condemned  to 
the  flames.     His  prayer  after  being  chained  to  the  stake: 

"Lord,  Almighty  God,  Father  of  thy  beloved  Son  Jesus 
'  Christ,  through  whom  we  have  received  the  knowledge 
"  of  thyself;  God  of  angels,  and  of  the  'whole  creation, 
"and  of  all  the  just  wdio  live  in  thy  sight:  1  bless  thee 
"that  thou  hast  judged  me  worthy  of  this  day,  and  of  this 
"hour,  to  take  part  in  the  number  of  thy  witnesses,  in  the 
"cup  of  thy  Christ,  to  a  resurrection  of  life,  both  soul  and. 
"  body,  in  the  incorruption  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  May  I 
"  be  received  before  thee  this  day  as  a  sacrifice  well 
"  savored  and  acceptable." 

"  The  fire  was  applied,  but  as  he  did  not  seem  to  bum, 
"  the  executioner  thrust  him  through  with  a  sword."  Eu- 
seb.  iv.  84. 

"The  centurion,  seeing  a  contest  likely  to  ensue  about 
"carrying  off  the  body,  kindled  a  fresh  tire,  and  reduced 
/"the  flesh  to  ashes.  'We  then  took  up  the  bones,'  say  the 
"  writers  of  this  record,  '  to  us  more  precious  than  jewels 
"and  deposited  them  decently  in  a  place  where  we  hope, 
"  annually  to  meet  and  to  celebrate  with  joy  the  birthday 
"of  this  illustrious  martyr,  that  others  maybe  animated. 
"  by  his  example  to  endure  the  like  trials."  Reeves,  43. 

EXAMPLES   OF    SCRIPTURE    REFERENCES. 

1  Peter  :  18.  "Whom  having  not  seen,  ye  love  ;  in 
wdiom,  though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believing,  ye  re- 
joice with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory."  Phil.  1:4. 

Matt.  7:  1.  "The  Lord  has  taught  us,  saying.  Judge  not 
and  ye  shall  not  be  judged;  forgive,  and  ye   shall  be  for 


EXAMPLES   OF    SCRIPTURE    REFERENCES.  63 

giv.en;  be  yp.  merciful,  and  ye  shall  obtain  mercy  ;  for  with 
the  same  meSsiire  that  he  mete  withal,  it  shall  be  meas- 
ured to  you  again  ;  blessed  are  the  poor,  and  they  that  are 
persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake;  for  theirs  is  the  king- 
dom of  God."  1 :  lo. 

1  John  4:  3.  "For  whosoever  does  not  confess  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,  he  is  Antichrist."  3:  1. 

1  Peter  2 :  22.  "•  Jesus  Christ,  who  his  ownself  bare  our 
sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree ;  who  did  no  sin,  neither 
was  guile  found  in  his  mouth.''  3  :  8. 

"Neither   fornicators,  nor    effeminate,  nor  abusers  oi 
themselves  with  mankind,  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God. 
2:  13. 

Barnabas,  A.  D.  60,  was  aLevite  of  Cyprus  and  a  fellow 
laborer  with  Paul,  called  also  an  apostle.  He  was  the 
Jewish  missionary  first  sent  to  Antioch  by  the  Christians 
at  Jerusalem.  Acts  11 :  22.  It  is  supposed  that  his  epistle 
was  written  for  the  use  of  the  Jewish  Christians  who  still 
adhered  to  the  law.  It  is  largely  quoted  by  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  Origen,  Eusebius,  Jerome,  and  many  others  of 
ancient  times. 

EXAMPLES   OF    SCRIPTURE   REFERENCE. 

Matt.  9:13.  "  When  he  chose  his  apostles,  which  were 
afterward  to  publish  his  gospel,  he  took  men  who  had 
been  very  great  sinners;  that  thereby  he  might  plainly 
show,  that  he  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners 
to  repentance.  Then  he  clearly  manifested  himself  to  be 
the  Son  of  God."     4:12. 

Matt.  22:  14.     "There  be  many  called  but  few  chopen." 
Epis.  3 :  17. 

Gen.  1  :  28.  "Thus  the  Scripture  saith  concerning  us, 
where  it  introduceth  the  Father  speaking  to  the  Son; 
let  us  make  man  after  our  likeness  and  similitude."     5  :  12, 

A.  D.  70,  Ignatius,  a  companion  of  the  apostles,  sealed 
his  testimony  with  his  blood,  under  Trajan,  A.  D.  107.  He 
names  the  books  of  "Matthew,  Luke,  John,  Corinthiaf^s 
Galatians,  Colossians,  Philippians,  Ephesians  and  first 
Peter."  Jortin  1  :  56.  Brought  up  in  Asia  Minor,  near 
the  Temple  of  Apollo,  and  familiar  with  the  manner  of 
speaking  of  the  Castalian  fountains  or  "  speaking  prophetic 


64  cnuKcii  HISTORY. 

waters,"  he  adopts  the  language  to  the  spiritual  water  of 
which  Christ  said:  "Whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that 
I  shall  give  him,  shall  never  thirst;  but  the  water  that  I 
shall  give  him,  shall  be  in  him  a  well  of  water  springing 
up  into  everlasting  life."  These  speak  better  things  than 
the  fabulous  oracles  of  Apollo's  fountains,  and  filled  his 
soul  with  heavenly  desire,  as  he  looked  from  those  to  these, 
saying : 

"But  living  water,  also  speaking  in  me  says  within  me, 
"  come  to  the  Father;  I  rejoice  not  in  corruptible  food,  nor 
"in  the  pleasures  of  this  life;  I  desire  the  bread  of  God, 
"  the  heavenly  bread,  the  bread  of  life,  which  is  ihe  flesh 
"  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  afterward  born  of  the 
«  seed  of  David."      Jor.  1 :  226. 

He  speaks  of  the  evayysXiov^  the  Gospel  of  Matthew 
Luke  and  John.  Eusebius  says  that,  "Ignatius  was  the 
successor  of  St.  Peter  in  the  see  of  Antioch."  While  Trajan 
was  on  his  way  to  Parthia,  and  persecution  was  raging  on 
every  side,  such  a  shining  mark  could  not  be  missed.  He 
did  not  shun  his  fate ;  but  expressed  a  desire  to  be  torn 
by  the  lions — to  suffer  with  his  brethren. 

On  being  introduced  to  the  Emperor's  presence,  he  was 
accosted  by  him. 

Emperor.  What  impious  spirit  art  thou,  both  to  trans- 
gress our  commands,  and  to  inveigle  others  in  the  same 
folly  to  their  ruin  ? 

Ignatius,  called  also  Theophorus,  replied,  Theophorus 
ought  not  to  be  called  so,  for  as  much  as  all  the  wicked 
spirits  are  departed  from  the  servants  of  God. 

Emperor.     Pray,  who  is  Theophorus  ? 

Ignatius.     He  who  has  Christ  in  his  breast. 

Emperor.  And  thinkest  thou  not  that  the  gods  reside 
in  us  also  ? 

Ignatius.  Thou  mistakest  in  calling  the  demons  of  the 
nations  by  the  name  of  gods,  for  there  is  only  one  God,  and 
one  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  begotten  Son. 

Emperor.     Him  who  was  crucified? 

Ignatius.     Who  crucified  my  sin  with  its  author. 


EXAMPLES  OP   SCRIPTURE   REFERENCES.  65 

Emperor.     Dost  thou  then  carry  him  who  was  crucified  ? 

Ignatius.     Yes,  for  it  is  written,  I  will  dwell  with  them. 

Trajan  then  decreed  the  following: 

"It  is  our  will,  that  Ignatius  be  conducted  to  Rome,  to 
be  there  devoured  by  wild  beasts."  At  hearing  the  sen- 
tence he  exclaimed  with  a  holy  joy,  "I  bless  thee,  O  Lord, 
for  honoring  me  with  this  token  of  thy  love,  and  for  letting 
me  be  bound  with  these  iron  chains  for  thy  sake,  in  imita- 
tion of  thy  Apostle  Paul."  Then  prajing  for  his  flock, 
and  recommending  it  with  tears  to  God,  by  a  band  of 
soldiers  he  was  instantly  hurfied  off  to  begin  his  journey  to- 
ward Rome.  He  traveled  by  land  as  far  as  Seleucia, 
where  he  was  put  on  board  a  ship.  At  Smyrna  they  per- 
mitted him  to  go  ashore.  This  afforded  him  the  opportu- 
nity of  seeing  and  conversing  with  Polycarp,  his  fellow- 
disciple  under  St.  John.  Polycarp,  far  from  lamenting  at 
seeing  his  friend  in  that  situation,  congratulated  with  him 
on  his  chains  and  sufferings  in  so  glorious  a  cause. 

Here  guarded  by  the  soldiers,  he  wrote  most  of  his  let- 
ters which  have  been  preserved,  while  on  his  way  to  the 
mouth  of  the  lion.  He  refers  to  Matthew,  Luke,  John,  firs-t 
Corinthians,  Colossians,  Galatians,  Philippians,  Ephesians 
and  first  Peter.     To  the  Christians  he  said : 

"Possess  a  spirit  of  union  in  Jesus  Christ.  I  have,  said 
"  he,  a  strong  savor  of  God,  but  I  take  a  just  measure  of 
"  myself,  lest  I  perish  by  boasting.  I  need  gentleness  of 
"  spirit,  by  which  the  spirit  of  the  world  is  subdued;  I  fear 
"  your  charity,  lest  it  should  injure  me  ;  pardon  me,  I  know 
"  what  is  good  for  me.  Now  I  begin  to  be  a  disciple ;  it  is 
"  better  for  me  to  die  for  Jesus  Christ  than  to  reign  over 
"  the  ends  of  the  earth.  My  worldly  affections  are  cruci- 
"fied;  the  fire  of  God's  love  burns  within  me,  and  can  not 
"  be  extinguished.  It  lives,  it  speaks  and  says,  come  to  the 
"  Father.  I  long  for  Jesus  Christ,  the  bread  of  God;  jh"ay 
"  earnestly  for  men,  without  ceasing,  for  there  is  hope  of 
"  conversion  in  them,  that  they  also  may  be  brought  ta 
«  God.     Milner,  vol.  I.  91,  93,  94. 

To    the    Romans   he    says:  "Nothing   seen  is    eternal, 
''momentary  are  the  objects  of  sense,  but  the  things  un- 
"  seen  are  for  ever."     "For  as  much  as  Jesus  Christ  exists 
5 


66  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"in  the  Father,  he  appears  the  more  glorious."     "Christi 
"  anity  though  it  is  hated  by  the  world,  is  not  to  be  con- 
"  cealed  in  silence,  but  to  be  manifested  in  all  its  great- 
"  ness." 

EXAMPLES    OF    SCRIPTURE   REFERENCES. 

The  "  fathers "  rather  refer  to,  than  quote  the  Scrip- 
tures. Ignatius  says  Christ  is  the  gate  of  the  Father,  by 
whom  enter  in  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob  and  the 
prophets  and  the  apostles  and  the  church.  (John  10:  9.) 
'^  The  Lord  without  the  Father  doeth  nothing."  (-Jolm  8  : 
28.  "After  his  resurrection  he  did  eat  and  drink  with 
them."  (Acts  10:  41.)  "  An»  apostle  not  of  men  nor  by 
men,  but  by  Jesus  Christ  and  God  the  Father  who  raised 
him  from  the  dead."  (Gal.  1:1.)  "Do  nothing  by  con- 
tention, but  according  to  the  discipline  of  Christ."  (Phil. 
2:3.)  Jesus  Christ.  '-Of  the  race  of  David  according  to  the 
flesh,  son  of  man  and  son  of  God."  (Rom.  1 :  1-3.) 
"  Esteem  not  such  as  enemies,  but  as  erring  members  re- 
call them,  that  ye  may  save  your  whole  body."  (2  Thess.  3  : 
15.)  "As  the  blessed  Paul  also  says,  a  man  that  is  a 
heretic  after  the  first  and  second  admonition,  reject.  (Tit. 
3:  10,  11.) 

Eusehius  says:  "He  was  extremely  diligent  in  inquir- 
"ingwhat  Andrew^,  Peter,  Philip,  Thomas,  James,  John, 
"  Matthew,  and  the  rest  oi  the  Lord's  disciples  had  said  or 
"  taught.  He  w^as  made  bishop  of  Hieropolis  by  the  apos- 
"  ties.  He  says  Mark,  the  interpreter  of  Peter,  made  an  ac- 
"  curate  record  of  whatsoever  he  remembered."  Euseb.  iii- 
Eusebius  says  :  "  Papias  (according  to  Jerome),  a  disciple 
"of  St.  John,  and  companion  of  Polycarp  (though  himself 
"  does  not  say  that  he  conversed  with  any  of  the  apostles, 
"but  only  with  those  who  had  been  intimate  with  them), 
"wrote  five  books  which  he  entitled.  Explications  of  the 
"  Oracles  of  Christy  where  he  has  inserted  a  great  variety 
"of  remarkable  particulars  communicated  to  him  by  those 
"who  had  known  the  apostles  ;  and  lets  us  understand  that 
"  he  made  it  his  business  to  inquire  after  the  sayings  of 
"Andrew,  or  Philip,  or  Peter,  or  Thomas,  or  any  other  of 
"the  apostles.  He  tells  us  *  *  St.  Matthew  wn-ote  his 
"  Gospel  in  Hebrew,  leaving  it  to  the  reader  to  interpret 
"for  himself.  His  writings  have  some  passages  in  them 
"legendary  and  groundless,  particularly  his  opinion  that 
"after  the  resurrection,  Christ  should  reign  visibly  a  thou- 
•"  sand  years  upon  the  earth.     Euseb.  iii.  75. 


EXAMPLES  OF  SCRIPTURE   REFERENCES.  67 

THE  CONFLICT. 

second  century. 

The  "Fathers,"  Irenaeus  67,  Justin  69,  Origen  72,  Cata- 
logue 74,  Tertullian  74,  Apology  75,  Cyprian  76,  Dio- 
NYSius  OP  Alexandria  79,  Firmlllion  80,  Evidences  of 
Christianity,  Pagan  Testimony,  Three  Koman  Centurions, 
Tacitus  82,  Pliny  83,  Trajan  85,  Gibbon's  Five  Reasons 
86,  Josephus  87,  Celsus  88,  Lucian  90,  Julian,  Porphyry, 
Apollo,  Mohammed  91,  Talmud  92,  Sibils,  Cicero,  Vir- 
gil 93,  Summing  up  94. 

Leaving  tlie  bright  morning  of  inspiration  for  the  cloudy- 
day  of  human  deductions,  we  experience  the  feeling  of  the 
mariner  leaving  the  continent  for  the  pathless  ocean;  but 
guided  by  the  word  of  God  with  the  spirit  in  our  hearts,  the 
star  of  Bethlehem  will  lead  us  to  where  the  young  child 
lives  in  the  hearts  of  his  true  disciples.  Such  only  as 
breathe  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  and  show  his  image  in  their 
lives,  do  we  recognize  as  true  Christians.  The  lirst  Chris- 
tians were  not  Romans  but  Jews.  The  first  Gentile  con- 
vert was  Cornelius.  The  first  house  opened  in  Europe  to 
Christians,  was  Lydia's  in  Philippi.     Acts  10  and  16. 

The  following,  also  called  "  Fathers,"  are  not  of  those 
who  had  seen  the  apostles ;  and  also  being  converts  from 
the  Pagans,  were  more  likely  to  be  infected  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  heathen  philosophy  than  those  first  educated  in 
the  religion  of  the  true  God,  and  fellow-worshipers  with 
Abraham,  Moses,  Isaiah,  and  the  apostles.  The  first  ser- 
mon of  free  grace  preached  by  the  apostles  was  at  Cesa- 
rea.  The  first  Gentile  Church  jjlanted  was  at  Antioch 
The  first  Gentile  minister  I  will  name  is  a  Greek. 

Iren^us  (A.  D.  120)  was  bishop  of  Lyons.  He  was 
well  versed  in  all  the  literature  of  Greece,  his  native  coun- 
try. He  studied  under  Papias  and  Polj^carp,  and  acquired 
a  knowledge  of  the  new  Scriptures  probably  beyond  either 
of  them ;  as  copies  became  more  needed  and  more  numer- 
ous. His  writings  abound  in  Scripture  references.  He 
wrote  five  books  on  heresies.  I  have  compiled  the  follow- 
ing list  of  references  to  almost  every  book  of  the  New 


68  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Testament,   to    show   how   generally  they  were    already 
known.     They  are  taken  from  Stoioe  on  the  Blhle. 

SCRirXURE    RECOGNITIONS    BY    IREN^EUS. 

"Matthew  put  forth  the  writing  of  the  Gospel  among 
"the  Hebrews  in  their  dialect." 

"Matthew  speaking  concerning  the  angel,  says,  The 
"  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to  Joseph  in  a  dream." 

"Mark,  the  discii^le  and  interjjreter  of  Peter,  transmit- 
"ted  to  us  in  writing  what  had  been  preached  by  him." 

"Luke  was  inseparable  from  Paul,  and  his  fellow-labor- 
"  er  in  the  Gospel." 

"John,  the  disciple  of  our  Lord,  the  same  that  lay  upon 
"  his  bosom,  also  published  the  Gospel  while  he  was  yet  at 
"  Ephesus." 

"Acts.  Luke  the  companion  of  Paul,  committed  to  writing 
"  the  Gospel  preached  by  him." 

Komans.  "The  Apostle  Paul  writing  to  the  Romans, 
"Paul  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  set  apart  for  the  Gospel 
«  of  God." 

Corinthians.  "  This  the  apostle  in  the  epistle  which  i? 
"to  the  Corinthians  most  plainly  shows,  saying,  I  would 
"not  that  ye  should  be  ignorant,  brethren,  that  all  oui 
"fathers  were  under  the  cloud." 

"The  apostle  says  in  the  second  epistle  to  the  Corin- 
"thians.  For  we  are  unto  God  a  sweet  savor  of  Christ, 
"both  in  them  that  are  saved  and  in  them  that  perish." 

Colossians.  "  In  the  epistle,  which  is  to  the  Colossians, 
"he  says,  Luke  the  beloved  physician." 

Philippians,  "Concerning  which  resurrection  the  apos- 
"tle,  in  that  which  is  to  the  Philippians  says,  being  made 
"  conformable  to  his  death,  if  by  any  means  I  may  attain 
"  to  the  resurrection  which  is  from  the  dead." 

Thessalonians.  "  The  apostle,  in  the  first  epistle  to  the 
"Thessalonians,  speaking  thus.  May  the  God  of  peace  sanc- 
"  tify  you  wholly.  And  again,  in  the  second  to  the  Thessa- 
"lonjans,  speaking  concerning  antichrist.  And  then  shall 
"that  wicked  one  be  revealed." 

Timothy.  "  And  well  Paul  says,  novelties  of  words  of 
"  false  science." 

Hebrews.  "  Paul  the  Apostle,  was  not  prefixed,  for  as 
"  he  wrote  to  the  Hebrews  who  had  imbibed  prejudices 
"  against  him.     Paul,  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  which 


SCRIPTURE   RECOGNITIONS   BY   IREN^US.  69 

"  the  Latin  custom  does  not  receive,  says,  Are  they  not  all 
"ministering  spirits?  He  alone  is  God  who  made  all 
"things,  the  only  omnipotent,  the  only  Father,  building 
^'  and  making  all  things,  both  visible  and  invisible,  both 
"sensible  and  senseless,  both  celestial  and  terrestrial, 
"  by  the  word  of  his  power."     (Heb.  1  :  3.) 

James.  "  He  shows  that  Abraham  himself  is  justified 
"  without  circumcision ;  without  the  observance  of  the 
"  Sabbath.  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  accounted 
"  to  him  for  righteousness ;  and  he  was  called  the  friend 
of  God. 

Peter.  "Whom  not  seeing  ye  love,  in  whom  not  see- 
"ing  him  now,  ve  believed,  and  rejoice  with  joy  unspeaka- 
"  ble."    1  Peter^l :  8. 

John.  "John  his  disciple,  in  the  aforesaid  epistle,  cora- 
"  mands  that  we  should  avoid  them,  saying.  For  many  de- 
"  ceivers  are  entered  into  the  world." 

Revelation.  "Also  John,  the  disciple  of  the  Lord,  see- 
"  ing  in  the  Apocalypse  the  sacerdotal  and  glorious  com- 
"  ing  of  the  kingdom." 

Irenseus,  after  making  himself  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  dialect  of  Gaul,  became  bishop  of  Lyons,  and 
one  of  the  most  able  defenders  of  the  church.  Concern- 
ing the  Gauls  he  said : 

"  They  believe  in  Jesus  without  paper  or  ink,  having 
"the  doctrine  of  salvation  written  on  their  hearts  by  the 
"  Holy  Ghost,  and  faithfully  keeping  up  the  ancient  tradi- 
"  tion  concerning  one  God  the  Creator,  and  his  Son  Jesus 
"Christ."  *  *  "if  any  one  asks  us,  how  is  the  Son  pro- 
"duced  from  the  Father,  *  *  no  one  knows,  *  *  but  the 
"  Father  who  begat,  and  the  Son  who  is  begotten."  Lib.  2, 
chap.  48,  p.  176. 

Victor,  bishop  of  Rome,  assuming  more  than  became 
him,  on  the  question  of  Easter,  Irenseus  gave  him  to  un- 
derstand that  the  early  Christians  did  not  make  such  ques- 
tions sufficient  cause  for  a  breach  of  charity,  or  union. 
He  possessed  a  loving  and  generous  spirit,  and  did  much  to 
promote  the  cause  of  the  blessed  Savior. 

Justin  Martyr.  (A.  D.  163.)  "He  was  a  native  of  Ne- 
"  apolis,  in  Samaria.  He  had  a  learned  education,  and 
"went  to  the  famed  school  of  Alexandria  for  improve- 
"ment."     Haweis  i.  160,  167. 


70  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

His  conversion.  "This  great  man  was  born  at  Neap- 
"  olis.  After  receiving  a  philosophical  education,  he  trav- 
"eled  in  his  youth  to  Alexandria.  He  gave  himself  up  to 
"the  tuition  of  the  Stoics,  till  he  found  that  they  could 
"  learn  him  nothing  more  of  God.  Next  he  sought  truth 
"  of  a  Peripatetic,  next  of  a  Pythagorean,  and  last  of  a  Plat- 
"onic  philosopher.  AYhile  thus  engaged,  he  says,  'as  I 
"was  walking  near  the  sea,  I  was  met  by  an  aged  person 
"of  venerable  appearance,  whom  I  beheld  with  much  at- 
"  tention.  We  soon  entered  into  conversation,  and  upon 
"  my  professing  a  love  for  private  meditation,  the  venera- 
"  ble  old  man  hinted  at  the  absurdity  of  mere  speculation. 
"  I  expressed  my  ardent  desire  to  know  God.  He  pointed 
"  to  the  writings  of  the  Hebrew  prophets.  He  added, 
"  above  all  things,  pray  that  the  gates  of  light  may  be 
"  opened  to  you,  for  they  are  not  discernible,  nor  to  be  un- 
"  derstood  by  any  one,  except  God  and  his  Christ  enable  a 
"man  to  understand.  After  further  conversation  he  left 
"  me.  I  saw  him  no  more  ;  but  immediately  a  fire  was 
"kindled  in  my  soul,  and  I  had  a  strong  affection  for  the 
"  prophets,  and  for  those  men  who  are  the  friends  of  Christ. 
"I  weighed  within  myself  the  arguments  of  the  aged 
"  stranger  ;  and,  in  the  end,  I  found  the  divine  Scriptures 
"to  be  the  only  sure  philosophy.'  Milnor  says  of  his  con- 
"  version,  'he  has  shown  us  enough  to  make  it  evident 
"  that  conversion  was  then  looked  upon  as  an  inward  spir- 
"itualworkin  the  soul.'  Coming  to  Rome,  he  met  and 
"refuted  Marcion,  the  Gnostic.  In  A.  D.  240,  he  published 
"  his  excellent  Apology.  Not  long  after,  he  went  to  Eplie- 
"  sus,  where  his  dialogue  with  Trypho  the  Jew  occurred. 
"He  afterward  returned  to  Rome,  where  he  had  frequent 
"contests  with  Crescens  the  philosopher,  and  soon  alter 
"published  his  second  Apology  for  the  Christians.  The 
"  sincerity  of  his  Christian  attachments  outweighed  every 
"  argument,  and  he  was  thrown  into  prison  for  the  crime 
"  of  being  a  Christian,  with  six  of  his  companions.  The 
"Prefect  inquired  in  what  kind  of  learning  he  had  been 
"educated,  and  he  related  his  experience.  The  Prefect 
"  replied — 

"  Wretch !  art  thou  captivated  with  that  re'ligion  ?" 

"Justin.  1  am,  I  follow  the  Christians,  and  their  doc- 
'*  trine  is  riglit." 

Pre.     "  What  is  their  doctrine  ?" 

Jus.     "  We  believe  the  one  only  God  to  be  the  Creator 


EXAMPLES   OF    SCRIPTURE    REFERENCES.  71" 

"of  all  tilings,  visible  and  invisible;  and  we  confess  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  foretold  by  the 
prophets  of  old ;  and  that  he  is  now  the  Savior,  Teacher, 
and  Master  of  those  who  are  duly  submissive  to  his  in- 
structions, and  that  he  will  hereafter  be  the  Judge  of 
mankind,  etc. 

Pre.     "Where  do  the  Christians  usually  assemble?" 

Jus.  "The  God  of  the  Christians  is  not  confined  to 
any  place." 

"  Pro.    In  what  place  do  you  instruct  your  scholars  ? " 

Jus.     "  The  place  where  I  dwell." 

Pre.  "  If  I  scourge  thee  from  head  to  foot,  thinkest  thou 
that  thou  wilt  go  to  heaven  ?" 

Jus.  "  I  know  it !  and  have  a  certainty  of  it,  which  ex- 
cludes all  doubt." 

Pre.     "  All  go  together,  and  sacrifice  to  the  gods." 

Jus.  "No  man  whose  understanding  is  sound  will  de- 
sert the  true  religion." 

Pre.  "  Unless  you  comply,  you  shall  be  tormented  with- 
out mercy." 

"  All  replied,  we  are  Christians,  and  can  not  sacrifice 
"  to  idols." 

"They  were  then  scourged  and  beheaded,  and  their  dead 
"  bodies  interred  by  their  Christian  friends," 

Jortin,  one  of  the  best  critics  of  ecclesiastical  history, 
says  of  Justin  Martyr: 

"He  mentions  the  Gospel  as  universally  received  and 
"  read  in  his  time." 

"His  citations  from  the  four  Gospels,  and  from  the  Epis- 
"tles  of  St.  Paul,  and  from  Revelation,  show  to  a  demon- 
"  stration  that  he  had  them  as  we  have  them  in  the  main." 
i.  54. 

Justin  says:  "The  apostles,  in  the  memoirs  composed 
"by  them,  which  are  called  gospels,  have  thus  handed 
"  down,  etc.  The  memoirs  which  I  say  were  composed  by 
"  the  apostles  or  by  those  who  accompanied  them." 

EXAMPLES  OF   SCRIPTURE   QUOTATIONS  OR   REFERENCES. 

"John  seated  by  the  river  Jordan  cried.  I  indeed  bap- 
"tize  you  with  water  unto  repentance,  but  there  will  come 
"  one  mightier  than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear, 
"  he  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire, 
"  whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  will  thoroughly  purge 


72  CHURCH    HISTOKY. 

"  his  floor,  and  his  wheat  he  will  gather  into  his  garner, 
"but  he  will  burn  up  the  chaff  with  unquenchable  fire." 

"Then  Jesus  came  to  the  river  Jordan,  where  John  was 
"baptizing,  and  when  he  went  down  to  the  water,  a  fire 
"  was  kindled  in  the  Jordan  ;  and  while  he  was  ascending 
"  from  the  water,  his  apostles  write,  the  Holy  Ghost  like  a 

"  dove  flew  upon  him and  at  the  same  time  a 

"  voice  came  out  of  the  heavens,  Thou  art  my  Son,  1  this 
"  day  have  begotten  thee."     (Matt.  3  :  11-17.) 

"  A  certain  one  saying  to  him  Good  Master,  he  an- 
"  swered.  Why  callest  thou  me  good  ?  there  is  one  good, 
"my  Father  who  is  in  heaven."     (Luke  18  :  19.) 

"For  all  have  gone  out  of  the  way,  he  cries  out,  they 
"have  together  become  corrupt,"     (Rom.  3  :  12.) 

"Pray  without  ceasing."     (1  Thess.  5  :  17.) 

"  We  know  the  saying,  one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a 
"  thousand  years,  pertaining  to  this."    (2  Pet.  3:8.) 

"This  is  he  who  is  according  to  the  order  of  Melchise- 
"dec  king  of  Salem,  being  an  eternal  priest  of  the  most 
"high."     (Heb.  5:  9.) 

Origen,  a.  D.  185,  was  the  greatest  luminary  of  this 
age.  He  was  illustrious  for  every  virtue  and  accomplish- 
ment. His  virtues,  his  self-sacrifice,  his  devotion  and  his 
untiring  labors  ;  his  zeal  and  his  charity  alike  challenge 
the  world's  admiration.  "His  name,"  says  Moshiem,  "will 
be  transmitted  with  honor  through  the  annals  of  time,  as 
long  as  learning  and  genius  shall  be  esteemed  among  men." 
i.  85.  When  but  a  boy  he  saw  his  belov^ed  father  die  a 
martyr  for  Christ,  and  the  son  consecrated  his  life  to  a 
martyr's  testimony.  To  defy  concupiscence,  he  made  him- 
self a  eunuch.  To  procure  knowledge,  he  denied  himself 
every  luxury ;  went  barefoot,  slept  on  the  floor,  lived  on 
the  coarsest  diet;  made  himself  familiar  with  cold,  pover- 
ty, fasting,  and  intermitting  toil.  He  was  unwearied  in 
devotion,  study,  prayer,  and  goodness.  Some  profess  all 
faith,  but  shun  every  cross.  Origen  chose  the  cross  as 
the  shortest  and  surest  road  to  the  purest  faith. 

The  Christian  heroes  of  this  chapter  are  all  worthy; 
but  not  one  of  them  surpasses  Origen  in  the  full-orbed 
character  of  a  true  Christian.     He  was  childlike,  though 


EXAMPLES   OP   SCRIPTURE   QUOTATIONS   OR   REFERENCES.        73 

learned  ;  devout,  though  a  philosopher  ;  and  though  labo- 
rious, he  was  brilliant.  The  depth  of  his  understanding  ; 
the  soundness  of  his  judgment;  the  acuteness  of  his  in- 
tellect, and  his  freedom  from  the  least  taint  of  corruption, 
extended  his  fame ;  while  the  multiplicity  of  his  labors 
rendered  him  equal  to  every  emergency.  Others  con- 
demn heretics ;  he  reclaimed  them.  Others  confound 
opponents ;  he  convinced  them.  Others  die  when  their 
work  is  finished ;  he  lived  in  the  great  lives  of  succeeding 
generations.  See  Euseb.  vi.  107.  He  conferred  immortal 
fame  upon  his  opponents  by  demolishing  them.  Daily 
his  schools  were  crowded  from  dawning  till  dark.  The 
wise  and  learned  philosophers,  and  great  men  of  his  time 
dedicated  their  books  to  him.  Porphyry,  in  attempting 
to  review  him,  is  "distracted  between  calumny  and  com- 
mendation." He  tells  us  that  Origen  is  a  scholar  of  the 
first  magnitude,  well  versed  in  all  the  writings  of  the  phi- 
losophers, particularly  the  opinions  of  Flatonists,  Pytha- 
goreans and  Stoics,  and  the  brightest  ornament  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

His  superior  talents,  unwearied  patience,  unwavering 
perseverance,  rendered  him  successful  in  application  and 
invulnerable  to  the  attacks  of  adversaries.  "  An  entire 
catalogue  of  this  great  man's  works,"  says  Eusebius,  "  would 
take  up  too  much  room  in  our  history,"  To  study  the  Bi- 
ble, he  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  Hebrew.  To 
secure  correct  interpretation,  he  compiled  "Hexapla,"  the 
preserved  fragments  of  which  astonish  the  world  by  their 
brilliancy.  Six  varied  versions,  with  the  Septuagint  and 
Hebrew,  he  placed  in  columns  parallel  to  each  other.  Fa- 
miliar with  the  learning  of  his  own  age,  he  sought  the 
archives  of  past  generations.  He  defended  the  sacred 
text  in  his  teachings,  and  illustrated  its  virtues  by  his  ex- 
ample. He  contended  with  Jews,  heretics,  and  piiiloso- 
phers,  while  prosecuting  his  unwearied  studies.  To  his 
other  work   she    added  thirty  books   of  commentaries   on 


74  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

the  Scriptures,  eight  books  against  Celsus,  and  over  ono 
hundred  epistles. 

origen's  catalogue  of  the  bible. 

In  his  exposition  of  the  first  Psalm  he  gives  a  catalogue 
of  canonical  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  he  affirms 
to  be  twenty-two  in  number,  for  though  in  the  list  he  gives 
but  twenty-one,  omitting  the  minor  prophets,  upon  which 
he  wrote  a  large  comment,  thus  approving  the  twenty- 
two,  these  prophets  being  counted  one  book. 

This  agrees  with  the  old  catalogue  of  Josephus,  who, 
excluding  the  Apocryphal  books,  gives — 

1.  The  Pentateuch,  five. 

2.  Prophetic  Books,  thirteen. 

3.  Hymns  and  Precepts,  four :  In  all  twenty-two.  And 
with  Melito,  A.  D.  170,  who  reckons  them  thus. 

1  The  five  books  of  Moses,  Joshua  sixth.  Judges  sev- 
enth, Ruth  eighth,  Samuel  and  Kings  twelfth,  Chronicles 
fourteenth.  Psalms  fifteenth,  Proverbs  sixteenth,  Eccle- 
siastes  seventeenth.  Song  eighteenth.  Job  nineteenth, 
Isaiah  twentieth,  Jeremiah  twenty-first.     Euseb.  i.  26. 

To  these  add  the  twelve  minor  prophets  twenty-sec- 
ond. 

He  asserts  the  divine  authority  of  the  four  Gospels,  af- 
firming that  of  Mark  to  have  been  dictated  by  Peter.  He 
speaks  of  Paul's  Epistles  in  general.  2d  Peter,  2d  and 
3d  John  he  states  as  canonical,  though  not  universally 
received  as  such.  He  supposes  every  part  of  Hebrews  to 
have  been  immediately  communicated  by  an  apostle,  most 
probably  by  Paul,  according  to  general  tradition.  Euseb. 
vi.  106. 

Tertullian  (A.  D.  194-220)  was  born  at  Carthage,  in 
Africa,  A.  D.  160.  He  is  the  first  Latin  writer  of  any  em- 
inence. He  had  a  fiery  zeal,  and  assailed  all  with  whom 
lie  difi'ered  with  the  burning  eloquence  of  African  warmth. 
He  became  attached  to  the  Montanists  A.  D.  320.     He  is 


tertullian's  apology  for  the  christians,  a.  d.  190.     75 

the  first  author  who  mentions  infant  baptism.  Montanus, 
of  Phrygia^  professed  to  possess  the  Holy  Ghost.  The 
Misses  Priscilla  and  Maximilla  became  his  disciples  and 
also  ministers,  preaching  and  baptizing.  With  these  fe- 
male ministers  it  is  probable  infant  baptism  originated. 
See  Robinson's  His.  Bap.  pp.  165,  167.  To  Quintilia  Ter- 
tullian,  the  great  African,  wrote  of  children,  saying,  "Let 
them  first  be  taught,  and  then  let  them  come."  His  chief 
work  is  his  Apology.     He  says  : 

"It  is  every  man's  right  and  natural  claim  to  worship 
"  as  he  thinks  fit.  One  man's  religion  neither  profits  nor 
"  injures  another.  It  is  contrary  to  the  nature  of  religion 
"  to  use  compulsion  with  any  man  to  be  religious;  this  can 
"  only  be  derived  from  choice,  and  not  coercion.  The  sac- 
"rifices  of  God  must  be  the  off"erings  of  a  willing  mind." 

tertullian's  apology  for  the  christians,  a.  d.  190. 

"  We  look  up  to  heaven  with  outstretched  hands,  be- 
''  cause  they  are  harmless  ;  without  a  prompter,  because 
•'  we  pray  from  the  heart."  "  We  pray  for  the  Emperor, 
"  whatever  Cassar  would  wish  for  himself  in  his  public 
"  and  private  capacity.  I  can  not  solicit  these  things  from 
"  any  other  than  him  from  whom  I  know  I  shall  obtain 
"them;  because  he  alone  can  do  these  things;  and  I  am 
"  he  who  may  expect  them  of  him ;  being  his  servant,  who 
"  worship  him  alone,  and  lose  my  life  for  his  service." 
"Were  we  disposed  to  return  evil  for  evil,  it  were  easy 
"for  us  to  avenge  the  injuries  which  we  sustain  ;  but  God 
"  forbid  that  his  people  should  vindicate  themselves  by 
"  human  tire,  or  be  reluctant  to  endure  that  by  which  their 
"  sincerity  is  evinced.  Were  we  disposed  to  act  the  part,  I 
"will  not  say  of  secret  assassins,  but  of  open  enemies, 
"  should  we  want  forces  or  numbers  ?  Are  we  not  dis- 
"  persed  through  the  world  ?  It  is  true  we  are  but  of 
"yesterday,  and  yet  we  have  filled  all  your  places,  cities, 
"islands,  castles,  boroughs,  councils,  camps,  courts,  palaces, 
"senate,  forum.  We  leave  you  only  your  temples.  To 
"  what  war  should  we  not  be  ready,  and  well  prepared, 
"even  though  unequal  in  numbers,  we  who  die  with  so 
"  much  pleasure,  were  it  not  that  our  religion  requires 
"us  rather  to  sufi"er  death,  than  inflict  it.  Were  we  to 
"make    a   general   secession   from   your   dominions,   you 


76  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

"  would  be  astonished  at  your  solitude."  "  We  are  dead 
"to  all  ideas  of  worldly  honor  and  dignity:  nothing  is 
"more  foreign  to  us  than  political  concerns.  The  whole 
"world  is  our  republic.  We  are  a  body  united  in  one 
*'  bond  of  religion,  discipline,  and  hope.  A\  e  meet  in  our 
"  assemblies  for  prayer.  We  are  compelled  to  have  re- 
"  course  to  the  divine  oracles  for  caution  and  recollection 
"  on  all  occasions.  We  nourish  our  faith  by  the  word  of 
"  God,  vve  erect  our  hope,  we  fix  our  confidence,  we 
"strengthen  our  discipline,  by  repeatedly  inculcating  pre 
"  cepts,  exhortations,  corrections,  and  by  excommunication, 
"  when  it  is  needful.  This  last,  as  being  in  the  sight  of 
"  God,  is  of  great  weight;  and  is  a  serious  warning  of  the 
"future  judgment,  if  anyone  behave  in  so  scandalous  a 
"manner  as  to  be  debarred  from  holy  communion.  Those 
"who  preside  among  us,  are  elderly  persons,  not  distin- 
"  guished  for  opulence,  but  worthiness  of  character.  Every 
"one  pays  something  into  the  public  chest  once  a  month, 
"  or  when  he  pleases,  and  according  to  his  ability  and  in- 
"clination;  for  there  is  no  compulsion.  These  gifts  are,  as  it 
"were,  the  deposits  of  piety.  Hence  we  relieve  and  bury 
"  the  needy,  support  orphans  and  decrepit  persons,  those 
"who  have  suft'ered  shipwreck,  and  those  who,  for  the 
"word  of  God,  are  condemned  to  the  mines,  or  imprison- 
"  ment.  This  very  charity  of  ours  has  caused  us  to  be  no- 
"ticed  by  some;  see  say  they,  how  these  Christians  love 
"one  another!" 

In  his  book,  De  Judicitia^  he  seems  almost  prophetic- 
ally to  supply  words  for  those  of  a  later  age  to  oppose 
the  Roman  usurpers.  He  treats  its  bishop  very  contempt- 
uouosly  ;  though  he  was  never  fond  of  that  church. 

Cyprian  was  chosen  bishop  of  Carthage,  A.  D.  248,  and 
suffered  A.  D.  258.  He  was  a  man  of  fortune,  and  was 
educated  for  the  law.  He  surpassed  as  an  elegant  writer 
and  fine  orator.  When  he  became  a  Christian  he  gave  up 
all  for  Christ. 

Cyprlati's  remarks  on  receiving  the  lapsed  are  beauti- 
ful. "  At  the  day  of  judgment,  it  will  be  laid  to  our  charge 
that  we  took  no  care  of  the  wounded  sheep,  and  that  on  ac- 
count of  one  that  w^as  diseased,  left  many  sound  ones  to 
perish :  that  while  our  Lord  left  the  ninety  and  nine  whole 


CYPRIAN.  77 

<heep,  and  went  after  the  one  that  had  wandered  and  be- 
come weary,  and  when  he  had  found  it,  brought  it  away 
himself  on  his  shoulders,  we  not  only  do  not  seek  after  the 
fallen,  but  even  reject  them  when  they  return  to  us.  See 
1  Cor.  9:22;  12:26;  10:33.  The  case  stands  diiferently 
with  the  Philosophers  and  Stoics,  who  say,  all  sins  are 
alike,  and  that  a  sound  man  should  not  easily  be  brought 
10  bend;  we  are  bound  to  keep  aloof  from  what  proceeds, 
not  from  God's  grace,  but  from  the  pride  of  a  severe  phi- 
losophy. Our  Lord  says  again.  Be  merciful,  even  as  your 
Father  is  merciful — the  whole  need  not  a  physician,  but 
the  sick ;  but  such  a  physician  he  can  not  be  who  says, 
'I  take  care  only  of  the  sound  who  need  no  physician.' 
Behold !  yonder  lies  thy  brother,  wounded  in  the  battle  by 
his  enemy.  On  the  one  hand  Satan  is  trying  to  destroy 
him  whom  he  has  wounded,  on  the  other  Christ  exhorts  us 
not  to  leave  him  to  perish,  whom  he  has  redeemed.  Which 
cause  do  we  espouse;  on  whose  side  do  we  stand?  Do  we 
help  the  devil  finish  his  work  of  destruction  ?  Do  we,  like 
the  Priest  and  the  Levite,  pass  by  our  brother  lying  half 
dead?  Or  do  we  as  priests  of  God  and  Christ,  snatch  the 
wounded  man  from  the  grasp  of  the  enemy ;  that  having 
done  everything  for  his  salvation,  we  may  leave  the  final 
decision  of  his  case  to  the  judgment  of  God."  See  Nean- 
der  i.  245-6. 

Nor  was  this  bare  profession.  When  certain  Christians 
of  Numidia  had  been  taken  captive  and  the  churches  were 
unable  to  raise  the  ransom,  Cyprian  raised  a  contribution 
of  over  four  thousand  dollars  and  forwarded  it  for  their  re- 
lief. Yet  the  charges,  that  Cyprian  ruled  with  imperious 
sway  and  ejected  members  who  displeased  him  with  great 
haughtiness,  seems  but  too  well  to  accord  with  his  notions 
of  visions  and  dreams,  and  of  the  dignity,  and  authority, 
and  superiority  of  the  outward  and  particular  develop- 
ments of  the  Church.  He  was  but  human.  None  is  with- 
out fault  save  God  and  his  Son.  The  error  seems  to  Lave 
been  fallen  into  by  some,  and  Cyprian  among  the  number, 


78  CHURCH  HISTORY. 

that  baptism  was  indispensable  to  the  remission  of  sins; 
hence  a  controversy  arose  about  Baptism.  The  question 
was  whether  returning  penitents,  or  heretics  ought  to  be 
rebaptized.  Cyprian  maintained  the  baptism  of  heretics  to 
be  null  and  void,  but  decided,  "  that  those  whose  weak  state 
of  Tiealtli  did  not  j^ermit  them  to  be  washed  in  water,  were 
yet  sufficiently  baptized  by  being  sprinkled,  as  the  virtue 
of  baptism  ought  not  to  be  estimated,  in  a  carnal  manner, 
by  the  quantity  of  external  apparatus."       Milner  i .  211. 

During  the  persecution  of  Decius  he  lay  concealed: 
but  was  finally  seized  September  13,  258.  The  soldiers 
were  sent  to  his  residence  to  take  him.  He  knew  that 
his  end  was  near,  an.d  was  prepared,  for  his  whole  ministry 
had  been  in  the  midst  of  persecution,  danger  and  death. 
He  repaired  to  the  Proconsul,  and  was  kept  prisoner  du- 
ring the  night  at  the  house  of  the  ofiicer,  surrounded  by 
great  numbers  of  Christians  ready  to  die  with  him.  When 
brought  before  the  Proconsul  in  the  morning,  with  a 
strong  guard,  and  followed  by  the  multitude,  the  Pro- 
consul said  plainly,  Art  thou  Thacius  Cyprian,  the  Chris- 
tian? 

Then  answered  Cyprian,  I  am. 

Proconsul.  The  Emperors  have  commanded  thee  to 
sacrifice. 

Cyprian.     I  do  not  sacrifice.     I  am  a  Christian. 

Proconsul.  Be  well  advised.  The  sacred  Emperors 
command. 

Cyprian.     Do  as  thou  art  commanded. 

(Proconsul.     Advises  with  his  council.) 

Proconsul.  Thou  art  an  enemy  of  the  gods,  a  seducer 
of  the  people. 

The  Proconsul  then  read  his  sentence: 

It  is  decreed,  that  Thacius  Cyprian  be  beheaded. 

Cyprian  replied,  God  be  praised. 

It  is  in  a  letter  to  Cyprian  (still  extant),  written  by 
Firmilian,  bishop  of  Cesarea,  that  that  bishop,  speaking  in 
the  name  of  the  Asiatic  bishops,  denounces  Stephen,  bishop 


DIOMVSIUS   OF   ALEXANDRIA.  79 

of  Rome.  He  compares  liim  to  Judas;  calls  his  presumptous 
action  in  excommunication  of  other  bishops  "  audacious 
insolence."  He  says:  "-What  grievous  sin  hast  thou  com- 
mitted in  separating  thyself  from  so  many  flocks  ?  Thou 
hast  cut  ofl'  thyself;  be  not  deceived  for  he  is  truly  a 
schismatic  who  has  made  himself  an  apostate  from  the 
communion  of  ecclesiastical  unity.  For  while  imagining 
that  thou  hast  excommunicated  all  others,  thou  hast,  in 
reality,  excommunicated  thyself  alone."  This  is  the  true 
doctrine.  The  exclusionist  excludes  himself;  as  he  judges 
he  is  judged.  Only  the  charitable  and  kind  are  Christians. 
All  else  are  as  chall"  to  the  wheat.  Only  the  good  man  is  a 
Christian.     Others,  though  confessors,  are  but  professors. 

DIONYSIUS    OF    ALEXANDRIA,    A.    D.    247. 

A  man  of  unblemished  Christian  spirit  and  character. 
This  was  he  whose  letter  was  received  by  the  Council  at 
Antioch  in  264.  "■  He  was  a  person,"  says  Milner,  "  of  great 
renown  in  the  church.''  (i.  187.)  Eusebius  has  preserved 
some  fragments  of  his  writings.  In  his  letter  to  Germanus 
he  gives  the  account  of  his  preservation  from  a  martyr's 
death. 

"  The  Roman  governor  sent  an  officer  to  seek  me,  dur- 
"ing  the  persecution  of  Uecius,  and  I  remained  four  days 
"  at  home,  expecting  his  coming ;  he  made  the  most  accu- 
"  rate  search  in  the  roads,  the  rivers,  and  the  fields,  where 
"he  suspected  I  might  be  hid.  A  confusion  seems  to 
"  have  seized  him,  that  he  could  not  find  my  house ;  for  he 
*'had  no  idea  that  a  man  in  my  circumstan<3es  should  stay 
"  at  home.  At  length,  after  four  days,  God  ordered  me  to 
"  remove ;  and,  having  opened  me  a  way  contrary  to  all 
"  expectation,  I  and  my  servants  and  many  of  the  brethren 
"  went  together.  The  event  showed  that  the  whole  was 
"  the  work  of  Divine  Providence.  About  sunset,  1  was 
"  seized,  together  with  my  whole  company,  by  the  soldiers, 
"and  was  led  to  Taposiris.  But  my  friend  Timotheus,  by 
"  the  providence  of  God,  was  not  present,  nor  was  he 
"seized.  He  came  afterward  to  my  house,  and  found  it 
"  forsaken  and  guarded  ;  and  he  then  learned  that  we  were 


80  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

*  taken  captive.  How  wonderful  was  the  dispensation! 
'  but  it  shall  be  related  precisely  as  it  happened.  A  eoun- 
'  tryman  met  Timotheus  as  he  was  Hying  in  coniusion,  and 
'asked  the  cause  of  his  hurry  ;  he  told  him  the  truth;  the 
'  peasant  heard  the  story  and  went  away  to  a  nuptial  feast, 
'at  which  it  was  the  custom  to  watch  all  night.  He  in- 
'  formed  the  guests  of  what  he  had  heard.  At  once,  they 
'  all  rose  up,  as  by  a  signal,  and  ran  quickly  to  us,  and 
'shouted:  our  soldiers,  struck  with  a  panic,  fled;  and 
'  the  invaders  found  us  laid  down  on  unfurnished  beds.  I 
'first  thought  they  must  have  been  a  company  of  robbers. 
'They  ordered  me  to  rise  and  go  out  quickly;  at  length  I 
'  understood  their  real  designs ;  and  1  cried  out,  and  en- 
'  treated  them  earnestly  to  depart,  and  to  let  us  alone. 
'But  if  they  really  meant  any  kindness  to  us,  I  requested 
'  them  to  strike  olf  my  head,  and  so  deliver  me  from  my 
'  persecutors.  They  compelled  me  to  rise  by  downright 
'violence  ;  and  I  then  threw  myself  on  the  ground.  They 
'seized  my  hands  and  feet,  pulled  me  out  by  force;  and 
'  placed  me  on  an  ass,  and  conducted  me  from  the  place." 

Dionysius  wrote  an  account  of  the  persecution;  also 
several  letters  respecting  Novatian ;  and  a  treatise  on  the 
Son  of  God,  wherein,  says  Neander(  i.  606),  he  also  declares 
himself  against  the  Ilomoousion.  Of  Firmillion,  of  blessed 
memory,  and  others,  space  will  not  permit  me  to  speak 
at  length,  though  a  divine  luster  surrounds  their  names.  In 
the  great  conflict  of  the  transition  period  to  which  we  are 
approaching,  this  glorious  army  of  martyrs,  with  others 
yet  unnamed,  will  all  appear  testifying  for  the  Son  of  God, 
with  Polycarp,  Papias,  Clement,  Ignatius,  Irenaeus,  Origen, 
Justin,  Aquilla,  Melito,  Hegesippus,  Pantrenus,  Gregory, 
Theophilus,  Novatian,  ApoUonius,  Heraclitus,  Dionysius, 
Fabius,  Cyprian,  Tertullian,  Tatian,  Eusebius,  Epiphanius, 
Many  thousands  of  others,  located  as  bishops,  presby- 
ters and  deacons;  or  bearing  the  gospel  as  Christian 
evangelists  to  every  part  of  the  world  we  must  pass. 

Churches  had  already  been  planted  from  Babylon  to 
Britain ;  and  from  Africa  to  China ;  the  world  was  vocal 
with  the  songs  of  Christians.  I  shall  in  my  next  division 
give  the  pagan  testimony  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 


PAGAN    TESTIMONY   TO   CHRIST   AND   HIS  RELIGION.  81 

The  glory  of  the  first  Christian  Church  has  marked  her 
origin  and  life  to  be  from  God.  Miracles  followed  her 
ministrations.  Converts  multiplied  under  her  labors. 
Jewish  priests  were  buried  in  her  baptism.  Pagan 
priests  bowed  at  her  altars.  Kings  laid  their  crowns  at 
her  feet.  But,  above  all,  every  Christian  grace  adorned 
her  communion.  Piety,  purity,  honesty,  industry,  truth- 
fulness, faithfulness,  virtue,  and  charity,  meekness,  pa- 
tience, and  Christian  constancy,  heart  goodness,  shining 
out  in  good  works;  full  hope,  great  faith,  constant  prayer; 
with  freedom  from  bigotry,  superstition,  and  sectarianism 
made  the  church  the  light  of  the  age,  and  the  hope  of  the 
world.     Her  Savior  was  with  her. 

PAGAN    TESTIMONY   TO   CHRIST   AND   HIS    RELIGION. 

Three  Roman  centurions  bore  witness  to  Christ  by  ex- 
pressing their  faith  in  him.  The  first  was  he  who  besought 
Jesus  to  heal  his  servant.  The  second  the  one  who  at  the 
cross  exclaimed,  "Truly  this  man  was  the  Son  of  God." 
(See  Matt.  8:  5;  15:  39.)  The  third,  the  noted  convert 
of  the  tenth  chapter  of  Acts.  Pilate  himself  bore  testimo- 
ny to  Jesus  when  he  said,  "  I  am  innocent  of  the  blood  of 
this  just  person."  In  connection  Eusebius  says  that  ac- 
cording to  a  custom  of  reporting  remarkable  events,  Pi- 
late sent  to  Tiberius,  the  emperor,  an  account  of  Christ 
and  how  many  believed  on  him  as  a  god  ;  which  the  em- 
peror communicated  to  the  Senate,  and  that  they  rejected 
him;  but  Tiberius  retained  his  favorable  sentiments,  and 
did  not  molest  the  Christians,  but  threatened  those  who 
would,  ii.  56.  Jortin  says  that  Pilate,  moved  by  the  won- 
derful circumstances  attending  the  death  of  the  Savior^ 
might  have  thought  him  the  son  of  some  deity ;  but  thinks 
Tiberius  was  not  disposed  to  increase  the  number  of  gods, 
and  regards  this  part  of  the  story  unfavorably,  as  resting 
upon  the  testimony  of  Tertullian  who  was  deceived.  Jor- 
tin i.  27.  In  connection  with  the  three  friendly  centurions, 
we  have  the  unfriendly  testimony  of  three  patricians.  The 
first  of  the  three  is  the  great  Roman  historian,  Tacitus. 
6 


82  CHURCH    HIb'TORY. 

J^irst  Caws  Cornelius  Tacitus.  His  annals  reach  from  A. 
D.  14  to  A.  D.  68.  He  was  born  A.  D.  50,  about  twenty  years 
after  the  death  of  onr  Savior.  He  says  of  Nero,  who  tried 
to  divert  suspicion  from  himself  that  he  was  guilty  of 
firing  the  city  of  Rome. 

"To  suppress  the  common  rumor,  that  he  had  himself  set 
"  fire  to  the  city,  Nero  procured  others  to  be  accused,  and  in- 
"flicted  exquisite  punishments  upon  those  people  who  were 
"  held  in  abhorrence  for  their  crimes,  and  were  commonly 
"  known  by  the  name  of  Christians.  They  had  their  de- 
"  nomination  from  Christus,  who,  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius, 
"was  put  to  death  as  a  criminal  by  the  procurator  Pontius 
"Pilate.  This  pernicious  superstition,  tiiough  checked 
"for  awhile,  broke  out  again,  and  spread  not  only  over 
"Judaea,  the  source  of  this  evil,  but  reached  the  city  also, 
"  whither  flow  from  all  quarters  all  things  vile  and  shame- 
"  ful,  and  where  they  find  shelter  and  encouragement.  At 
"  first  those  only  were  apprehended  who  confessed  them- 
"selves  of  that  sect ;  afterward  a  vast  multitude  was  dis- 
"  covered  by  them,  all  of  whom  were  condemned,  not  so 
"much  for  the  crime  of  burning  the  city,  as  for  their  en- 
*'  mity  to  mankind.  Their  executions  were  so  contrived  as 
"  to  expose  them  to  derision  and  contempt.  Some  were  cov- 
*^  ered  over  with  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  and  torn  to  pieces 
"by  dogs;  some  were  crucified;  and  others  having  been 
"daubed  over  with  combustil)le  materials,  were  set  up  as 
"lights  in  the  night  time,  and  thus  burnt  to  death.  Nero 
"made  some  use  of  his  OAvn  gardens  as  the  theater  upon 
*'  this  occasion,  and  also  exhibited  the  diversions  of  the  cir- 
*'cus,  sometimes  standing  in  the  crowd  as  a  spectator,  in 
"the  habit  of  a  charioteer,  at  others  driving  a  chariot  iiim- 
"  self,  till  at  length  these  men,  though  really  criminal  and 
"deserving  exemplary  punishment,  began  to  be  commiser- 
"  ated,  as  people  who  were  destroyed,  not  out  of  regard 
*' to  the  public  welfare,  but  only  to  gratify  the  cruelty  of 
"  one  man." 

(This  persecution,  in  which  Paul  suffered,  is  placed  A 
D.  64,  though  LeClerc  places  it  A.  D.  68.) 

Again  speaking  of  the  dying  Christians,  Tacitus  says 
•*'Even  in  their  dying,  they  were  made  sport  of;  some  cov 
ered  with  skins  of  beasts  that  they  might  be  mangled   to 
death  by  the  dogs  ;  others  nailed  to  crosses  ;  others  con- 


PAGAN  TESTIMONY   TO    CHRIST   AND    HIS    RELIGION.  83 

demned  to  the  flames,  and  when  the  day  went  down,  they 
were  burned  for  illumination  in  the  night.  *  *  Commis- 
eration was  awakened,  as  if  they  suffered  not  from  any 
consideration  of  the  public  welfare,  but  for  the  gratifica- 
tion of  one  man's  cruelty."    Annals^  xv.  44. 

The  Second  Caius  Plinius  C^cilius,  commonly  called 
Pliny;  a  governor  under  the  Emperor  Trajan. 

A.  D.  107.     C.  Pliny  to  Trajan  Emperor, 

"  Health.  It  is  my  usual  custom.  Sir,  to  refer  all  things 
"of  w4iich  I  harbor  any  doubts,  to  you.  P'or  who  can  bet- 
"  ter  direct  my  judgment  in  its  hesitation,  or  instruct  my 
"  understanding  in  its  ignorance  ?  I  never  had  the  fortune 
"  to  be  present  at  any  examination  of  Christians,  before  I 
'•  came  into  this  province.  I  am  therefore  at  a  loss,  to  de- 
"termine  what  is  the  usual  object  either  of  inquiry  or  of 
"punishment,  and  to  what  length  either  of  them  is  to  be 
"  carried.  It  has  also  been  with  me  a  question  very  problem- 
"  atical,  whether  any  distinction  should  be  made  between 
"  the  young  and  the  old,  the  tender  and  the  robust ;  wheth- 
"  er  any  room  should  be  given  for  repentance,  or  the  guilt 
"  of  Christianity  once  incurred  is  not  to  be  expiated  by 
"  the  most  unequivocal  retractation  ;  whether  the  name  it- 
"  self,  abstracted  from  any  flagitiousness  of  conduct,  or 
"the  crimes  connected  with  the  name,  be  the  object  of 
"  punishment.  In  the  mean  time  this  has  been  my  meth- 
"  od,  with  respect  to  those  who  were  brought  before  me  as 
"  Christians.  I  asked  them,  whether  they  were  Christians: 
"  if  they  pleaded  guilty,  I  interrogated  them  twice  afresh 
"w^ith  menace  of  capital  punishment.  In  case  of  obsti- 
"  nate  perseverance,  I  ordered  them  to  be  executed.  For 
"  of  this  I  have  no  doubt,  whatever  was  the  nature  of  their 
"religion,  that  a  sullen  and  obstinate  inflexibility  called 
"  for  the  vengeance  of  the  magistrate.  Some  were  infected 
"with  the  same  madness  whom,  on  account  of  their  privi- 
*'  lege  of  citizenship,  I  reserved  to  be  sent  to  Rome,  to  be 
"referred  to  your  tribunal.  In  the  course  of  this  business, 
"  information  pouring  in,  as  is  usual  when  they  are  encour- 
"aged,  more  cases  occurred.  An  anonymous  libel  was  ex- 
*  hibited,  with  a  catalogue  of  names  of  persons,  who  yet 
"declared,  that  they  were  not  Christians  then,  or  ever  had 
"been;  and  they  repeated  after  me  an  invocation  of  the 
"gods  and  of  your  image,  which,  for  this  purpose,  I  had  or- 


€4  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"dered  to  be  brought  with  the  images  of  the  deities.  They 
*'  performed  sacred  rites  with  wine  and  frankincense,  and 
"execrated  Christ,  none  of  which  things  I  am  told  a  real 
"Christian  can  ever  be  compelled  to  do.  On  this  account 
"  I  dismissed  them.  Others  named  by  an  informer,  first 
«  affirmed,  and  then  denied  the  charge  of  Christianity;  de- 
*'  daring  that  they  had  been  Christians,  but  had  ceased  to 
«be  so,  some  three  years  ago,  others  still  longer,  some 
"  even  twenty  years  ago.  All  of  them  worshiped  your 
"  image,  and  the  statues  of  the  gods,  and  also  execrated 
*'  Christ.  And  this  was  the  account  which  they  gave  of 
"  the  nature  of  the  religion  they  once  had  professed,  wheth- 
"  er  it  deserves  the  name  of  crime  or  error, — namely — that 
"they  were  accustomed  on  a  stated  day  to  meet  before 
■*'  daylight,  and  repeat  among  themselves  a  hymn  to  Christ 
"  as  to  a  god,  and  to  bind  themselves  by  an  oath,  with  an 
*'  obligation  of  not  committing  any  wickedness  ;  but,  on  the 
"  contrary,  of  abstaining  from  thefts,  robberies,  and  adul- 
*'  teries ;  also,  of  not  violating  their  promise,  or  denying 
*' a  pledge;  after  which  it  was  their  custom  to  separate, 
"and  to  meet  again  at  a  promiscuous  harmless  meal,  from 
"  which  last  practice  they  however  desisted,  after  the  pub- 
"lication  of  my  edict,  in  which,  agreeably  to  your  orders, 
"I  forbad  any  societies  of  that  sort.  On  which  account  1 
*' judged  it  the  more  necessary,  to  inquire  bytorturk,  from 
^H200  females,  who  were  said  to  be  deaconesses,  what  is 
"  the  real  truth.  But  nothing  could  I  collect,  except  a  de- 
"  praved  and  excessive  superstition.  Deferring  therefore 
*'  any  farther  investigation,  I  determined  to  consult  you. 
"For  the  number  of  culprits  is  so  great,  as  to  call  for  se- 
"  rious  consultation.  Many  persons  are  informed  against 
*'  of  every  age  and  of  both  sexes  ;  and  more  still  will  be 
"in  the  same  situation.  The  contagion  of  the  superstition 
'"  hath  spread  not  only  through  cities,  but  even  villages 
"  and  the  country.  Not  that  I  think  it  impossible  to  check 
"  and  to  correct  it.  The  success  of  my  endeavors  hitherto 
^'  forbids  such  desponding  thoughts  ;  for  the  temples,  once 
"  almost  desolate,  begin  to  be  frequented,  and  the  sacred 
"solemnities,  which  had  long  been  intermitted,  are  now 
"  attended  afresh  ;  and  the  sacriticial  victims  are  now  sold 
"  everywhere,  which  once  could  scarcely  find  a  purchaser. 
"  Whence,  I  conclude,  that  many  might  be  reclaimed,  were 
"the  hope  of  impunity,  on  repentance,  absolutely  con- 
«  firmed." 


TRAJAN    TO    PLINY.  85 

Trajan  to  Pliny. 

"  You  have  done  perfectly  right,  my  dear  Pliny,  in  the 
"  inquiry  which  you  have  made  concerning  Christians.  For 
"  truly  no  one  general  rule  can  be  laid  down,  which  will 
"  apply  itself  to  all  cases.  These  people  must  not  be  sought 
"  after.  If  they  are  brought  before  you  and  convicted,  let 
"  them  be  capiially  punished,  yet  with  this  restriction,  that 
"if  any  one  renounce  Christianity,  and  evidence  his  sin- 
"  cerity  by  supplicating  our  gods,  however  suspected  he 
"  may  be  for  the  past,  he  shall  obtain  pardon  for  the  fu- 
*'  ture,  on  his  repentance.  But  anonymous  libels  in  no 
"  case  ought  to  be  attended  to ;  for  the  precedent  would 
*'  be  of  the  worst  sort,  and  perfectly  incongruous  to  the 
*'  maxims  of  my  government." 

Concerning  the  "  two  females,"  the  deaconesses,  tortured 
by  the  "  huinane  Pliny^'  who  would  not  like  to  know  more  ? 
Pliny  was  born  in  61  or  62,  about  thirty  years  after  the  cru- 
cifixion. 

The  third  was  Caius  Suetonius  Tranquillus,  born  about 
the  year  70  ;  or  forty  years  after  the  crucifixion,  and  two 
years  before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem. 

Suetonius  in  his  "  Lives  of  the  Twelve  Caesars  "  says, 
"  Claudius  expelled  from  Rome  the  Jews,  who  were  con- 
tinually raising  tumults,  at  the  instigation  of  Christus." 
(  Christ)  In  his  life  of  Nero  he  says,  "  The  Christians,  a 
Bort  of  men  of  a  new  and  mischievous  superstition,  were 
severely  punished."     p.  16. 

Edward  Gihhon^  who  devoted  his  life  to  the  study  of 
the  history  of  past  ages,  says  : 

"A  candid  but  rational  inquiry  into  the  progress  and 
"  establishment  of  Christianity  may  be  considered  as  a 
«  very  essential  part  of  the  history  of  the  Roman  empire. 
"  While  that  great  body  was  invaded  by  open  violence,  or 
"  undermined  by  slow  decay ;  a  pure,  and  humble  religion 
"gently  insinuated  itself  into  the  minds  of  men,  grew  up 
*'in  silence  and  obscurity,  derived  new  vigor  from  opposi- 
"tion,  and  finally  erected  the  triumphal  banner  of  the 
"cross  on  the  ruins  of  the  capital.  *  *  *  Our  curiosity  is 
"  naturally  prompted  to  inquire  by  what  means  the  Chris- 
"tian  faith  obtained  so  formidable  a  victory  over  the  es 
"  tablished  religions  of  the  earth." 


B^  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Tliis  inquiry  he  thus  answers :  The  success  of  the 
Christians  sprung, 

I.  From  the  inflexible,  and,  if  we  may  use  the  expres- 
sion, the  intolerant  zeal  of  the  Christians." 

II.  "The  doctrine  of  a  future  life  improved  by  every 
additional  circumstance  which  could  give  weight  and  ef- 
ficacy to  that  important  truth." 

III.  "  The  miraculous  powers  ascribed  to  the  primitive 
Church."     (Lost  now  by  a  departure  from  the  truth.) 

IV.  "The  pure  and  austere  morals  of  the  Christians." 

V.  The  union  and  discipline  of  the  Christian  republic 
which  gradually  formed  an  independent  and  increasing 
state  in  the  heart  of  the  Roman  empire".  Decline  and 
Fall,     vol.  i.  chap.  xv.  p.  505. 

According  to  the  ancients,  Jesus  Christ  suffered  under 
the  consulship  of  the  two  Gemini,  in  the  year  29  of  our 
present  era.  The  Church  was  founded  only  forty  days 
after  the  death  of  Christ.  *  *  *  The  first  fifteen  bishops 
were  all  circumcised  Jews.  The  Christians  at  Rome  at  the 
time  of  the  accidental  persecution  of  Nero,  are  represent- 
ed by  Tacitus  as  already  amounting  to  a  very  great  multi- 
tude. Within  foursc  ore  years  after  the  death  of  Christ, 
the  humane  Pliny  laments  the  magnitude  of  the  evil  which 
he  vainly  attempts  to  eradicate.  *  *  *  In  his  very  curi- 
ous epistle  to  the  Emperor  Trajan,  he  affirms  that  the  tem- 
ples were  almost  deserted — that  the  sacred  victims  (sacri- 
fices) scarcely  found  any  purchasers.  Decline  and  Fall^ 
pp.  505,  514,  576,  579. 

While  endeavoring  to  explain  away  the  Pagan  persecu- 
tion. Gibbon  eloquently  remarks  concerning  the  blessed 
character  of  the  Christians: 

"  If  we  seriously  consider  the  purity  of  the  Christian 
'religion,  the  sanctity  of  its  moral  precepts,  and  the  inno- 
'  cent  as  well  as  the  austere  lives  of  the  greater  number 
'  of  those,  who,  during  the  first  ages,  embraced  the  faith 
'of  the  gospel,  we  should  naturally  suppose,  that  so  be-. 
'  nevolent  a  doctrine  would  have  been  received  with  due 
'reverence,  even  by  the  unbelieving  world;  that  the 
'  learned  and  the  polite,  however  they  might  deride  the 


JOSEPHUS'   TESTIMONY.  8T 

"miracles,  would  have  esteemed  the  virtues  of  the  new 
"sect;  and  that  the  magistrates,  instead  of  persecuting, 
"  would  have  protected  an  order  of  men,  who  yielded  the 
"  most  passive  obedience  to  the  laws,  though  they  de- 
"  clined  the  active  cares  of  war  and  government."  If,  on 
"  the  other  hand,  we  recollect  the  universal  toleration 
"  of  polytheism,  as  it  is  invariably  maintained  by  the  faith 
"  of  the  people,  the  incredulity  of  philosophers,  and  the 
"policy  of  the  Koman  senate  and  emperors,  we  are  at  a 
"loss  to  discover  what  new  offense  the  Christians  had 
"  committed,  what  new  provocation  could  exasperate  this 
"  mild  indifference  of  antiquity,  and  what  new  motive 
"  could  urge  the  Roman  princes,  who  beheld  without 
"  concern  a  thousand  forms  of  religion  subsisting  in 
"peace  under  their  gentle  sway,  to  inflict  a  severe  punish- 
"  ment  on  any  part  of  their  subjects,  who  had  chosen  for 
"  themselves  a  singular  but  inoffensive  mode  of  faith  and 
"  worship."     Deo.  and  Fall.  Vol.  li.  9. 

JOSEPHUS'     TESTIMONY. 

Justice  to  the  great  and  true  Hebrew  historian,  Flavius 
Josephus,  will  not  allow  me  to  omit  his  testimony.  He 
says  : 

"Now  there  lived  about  this  time,  a  certain  Jesus,  a 
"  wise  man,  if  indeed  it  be  lawful  to  call  him  a  man.  For 
"he  performed  many  wonderful  works;  he  was  aninstruct- 
"  or  of  those  persons  who  receive  the  truth  with  willing- 
"ness.  He  induced  many  to  become  his  followers,  as  well 
"  among  the  Jews  as  also  among  the  Gentiles.  This  was 
"  the  Christ.  And  when  upon  the  accusation  of  our  prin- 
"  cipal  men,  Pilate  condemned  him  to  the  cross,  these  did  not 
"  cease  to  love  him.  For  he  appeared  to  them  again  alive 
"on  the  third  day;  the  divine  prophets  having  foretold 
"these  and  a  myriad  of  other  wonderful  things  concerning 
"  him  And  even  at  the  present  time,  the  tribe  of  Chris- 
"tians,  so  denominated  from  him,  still  subsist."  Lib.  28, 
An.  Jew  iii.  3. 

Some  reject  this  testimony  partly  out  of  hatred  to  the 
Jews,  and  partly  because  they  can  not  see  how  a  Jew  could 
speak  respectfully  of  Jesus,  without  being  a  full  and  open 
disciple.  But  there  were  many  such,  even  recorded  in  the 
New  Testament,  who  respected  the  Savior  without  altogeth- 
er   abandoning    the    Jewish    Church.      Thus   Nicodemus 


88  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

brought  the  spices  to  embalm  the  body,  and  furnished 
the  linen  cloth ;  while  Joseph  of  Arimathea  furnished  the 
sepulcher.  It  is  fitting  that  Josephus  should  write  the 
epitaph.  They  were  all  Jews,  and  the  part  of  one  is  as 
rational  as  that  of  the  others.  Josephus  may  have  been 
inclined  to  the  Ebionites  ;  of  which  it  is  supposed  the  fam- 
ily of  our  Savior  were  reckoned  in  after  years.  We  add  the 
opinion  of  the  learned  Isaac  Milner,  D.  D. 

"I  have  examined,  as  carefully  as  I  can,  the  doubts 
"which  have  been  started  on  the  authenticity  of  this  pas- 
"  sage.  To  me  they  seem  mere  surmises.  One  of  them, 
"  the  supposed  inconsistency  of  the  historian,  in  testifying 
"  so  much  of  Christ,  and  yet  remaining  an  unconverted 
"Jew,  affords  an  argument  in  its  favor.  Inconsistencies 
"  ought  to  be  expected  from  inconsistent  persons.  Such 
"  are  many  in  the  Christian  world  at  this  day,  who  in  like 
"  circumstances  would  have  acted  a  similar  part.  Such 
"  was  Josephus.  He  knew  and  had  studied  something  of 
"all  sorts  of  opinions  in  religion;  and  his  writings  show 
"him  to  have  been  firm  in  nothing  but  a  regard  to  his 
"  worldly  interest.  To  me  he  seems  to  say  just  so  much 
"  and  no  more  of  Christ,  as  might  be  expected  from  a 
"  learned  skeptic,  of  remarkable  good  sense,  and  supreme 
"love  of  worldly  things."  i.  69. 

TESTIMONY   OF   PAGAN    WRITERS.      CELSUS. 

Pagan  writers  in  combating  the  Christians  by  quoting 
the  New  Testament  writings,  give  us  additional  proof  of 
their  genuineness.  Celsus  an  Epicurean  philosopher  of 
the  second  century,  wrote  a  book  against  the  Christians 
which  is  lost,  except  iragments  in  the  reply  of  Origen. 
Celsus  says:  "These  objections  are  derived  from  your  own 
"writings."  "His,  Christ's,  pretensions  to  being  born  of  a 
"virgin  were  false;  he  was  born  in  Judea  of  an  indigent 
female,  who  was  the  wife  of  a  carpenter,  and  had  been  con- 
victed of  adultery  and  discarded  by  her  husband,  and  who 
gave  birth  to  Jesus  as  she  was  wandering  about.  Poverty 
compelled  him  to  seek  employment  in  Egypt,  where  he 
became  skilled  in  Egyptian  necromacy  {dwdfisig)  ;  and  be- 
ing inflated  with  his  magical  attainments,  on  his  return  to 
his  native  land,  he  called  himself  God."  He  calls  Christ 
"the  carpenter,"  and  says,  "Those  display  a  great  deal 


JOSEPHUS'     TESTIMONY.  89 

of  presumption  who  trace  the  lineage  of  Christ  from  the 
first  progenitor  ol  the  human  family,  and  from  the  Jewish 
kings."  Luke  iii.  38.  And  reproaches  the  Christians  for 
"pretending  that  the  Son  of  Cod  is  the  Xoyog  or  word." 

He  speaks  of  the  "•  Magians  and  the  star,"  and  says 
that  the  historians  of  Christ  contradict  each  other  in  re- 
gard to  the  resurrection.  He  asked :  '^  Why  did  Christ 
perform  no  miracle  when  challenged  to  do  so  by  the  Jews 
in  the  temple?"  "If  he  really  intended  to  manifest  his 
divine  power,  he  ought  to  have  shown  himself  to  those 
who  condemned  him,  and  generally  to  all."  "•  How  is  it- 
that  a  man,  who  was  incensed  with  the  Jews,  should  de- 
stroy them  all  at  a  stroke  and  send  up  their  city  in  flames ! 
so  utterly  nothing  were  they  before  him; — but  the  Great 
God,  angry  and  threatening,  sends  his  own  son,  as  they 
say,  and  he  must  sufier  all  this." 

ARGUMENTS   OE    CELSUS. 

"The  Jews  are  a  nation  by  themselves,  and  they  observe 
"  the  sacred  institutions  of  their  country  whatever  they 
"may  be,  and  in  so  doing,  act  like  other  men.  It  is  right 
"for  every  people  to  reverence  their  ancient  laws  ;  but  to 
"  desert  them  is  a  crime."  "  They  who  invite  us  to  be- 
"  come  initiated  into  their  religious  mysteries,  begin  by 
"proclaiming  'Let  him  approach  free  from  all  stains,  who 
"is  conscious  of  no  wickedness,  who  has  lived  a  good  and 
"  upright  life."  "  Whoever  is  a  sinner,  whoever  is  foolish, 
"unlettered,  in  a  word,  whoever  is  wretched,  him  will  the 
"kingdom  of  God  receive.''  "But  how?  was  not  Christ 
"  sent  in  behalf  of  those  who  are  sinless  ?"  "  It  is  manifest 
"  to  every  one,  that  it  lies  within  no  man's  power  to  pro- 
"  duce  an  entire  change  in  a  person  to  whom  sin  has  be- 
"  come  a  second  nature,  even  by  punishment,  to  say  noth- 
"ing  of  mercy  ;  for  to  efiect  a  complete  change  of  nature 
"is  the  most  difficult  of  things  ;  but  the  sinless  are  the  safer 
"  companions  in  life."  Again,  "  Celsus  invites  the  Chris- 
"  tians  to  join  in  the  festivals.  '  God  is  the  common  God 
"  of  all,  he  is  good,  stands  in  need  ol  nothing,  is  a  stran- 
*'ger  to  all  jealous3\  What  then  thouUl  hinder  men,  how- 
"ever  much  they  may  be  devoted  to  him,  from  parlicipat- 
"ing  in  the  sports  of  the  people?'"  Celsus  called  on 
t' Christians  to  take  up  arms  for  tlie  protection  of  the  em- 
"' peror's  rights,  and   Origen  replied:  "We  are  rendering 


90  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

"  the  emperors  a  divine  assistance,  when  we  put  on  a 
"divine  armor,  wherein  to  follow  the  command  of  the  apos 
«  tie.' "  1  Tim.  2:  1.    Neander  i.  166  ;  ii.  265-72. 

Thus  the  pagans  in  these  allusions  to  the  "  star^^  the 
^^virgi)i"  the  ^'' royal  lineage,"  the  "logos,"  the  "resurrec- 
tion," etc.,  confirm  Matt.  2,  Luke  3,  John  1 :  1,  Mark's 
Gospel,  and  other  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  proving 
that  these  facts  were  recorded  in  the  gospels  at  the  be- 
ginning. 

LuciAN,  THE  CELEBRATED  Greek  CRITIC,  was  bom  in  Sa- 
mosata,  A.  D.  90,  only  sixty  years  after  the  crucifixion. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  accomplished  writers  of  his  age^ 
a  perfect  master  of  criticism.  He  calls  Christ  a"  crucified 
sophist." 

lucian's  argument. 

Gibbon  says :  "  From  Lucian,  a  philosopher  who  had 
studied  mankind,  we  learn  that  under  the  reign  of  Com- 
modus,  his  native  country  of  Pontus  was  filled  with  Epicu- 
reans and  Christians."  He  was  an  Epicurean  skeptic ;  as  a 
writer,  elegant,  ingenious,  loose  and  immodest;  without 
principle;  and  who  despised  "  the  gods,"  and  all  religion. 
"  They  still  worship,"  says  he  of  the  Christians,  "  that  great 
man  \\ho  was  crucified  in  Palestine,  because  it  was  he  by 
whom  the  initiation  into  these  new  mysteries  was  intro- 
duced into  human  life.  These  poor  creatures  have  per- 
suaded themselves  that  they  are  all  immortal,  and  shall  live 
for  ever.  For  this  reason  they  despise  death  itself,  and 
many  even  court  it.  But  again,  their  first  lawgiver  has 
persuaded  them  to  believe  that  as  soon  as  they  have  bro- 
ken loose  from  the  prevailing  customs  and  denied  the  gods 
of  Greece,  reverencing  instead  of  these  their  crucified 
teacher,  and  living  after  his  laws,  they  stand  to  each  other 
in  the  relation  of  brethren.  Thus  they  are  led  to  despise 
everything  alike,  to  consider  everything  else  as  profane, 
ad(>pting  these  notions  without  any  sufficient  grounds  of 
evidence."  "  If  a  magician,  an  impostor,  who  is  apt  at  his 
trade,  comes  among  them,  having  to  deal  with  an  igno- 
rant class  of  people,  he  can  shortly  make  himself  rich." 
Peregrinus  explained  and  illustrated  some  of  their  books; 
and  he   is   of  opinion   that  the  writings  here  alluded  to 


JOSEPHUS'     TESTIMONY.  91 

may  have  been  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
Hebrew  Gospel  of  Matthew ;  because  this  passage  of  Lu- 
cian  refers  to  Nazarene  Christians,  who  were  resident 
in  Palestine,  and  who  are  known  to  have  received  these 
books.     Storr  and  Flattop.  "2,0. 

We  accept  so  much  of  the  character  as  belongs  to  us, 
not  quarreling  with  the  Epicurean's  hate,  but  rather  thank- 
ing him  for  his  testimony. 

Julian  the  Apostate,  a  Roman  emperor,  says:  "Jesus, 
having  persuaded  a  few  among  you  Galileans,  and  those 
of  the  worst  of  men,  has  now  been  celebrated  about  three 
hundred  years,  having  done  nothing  in  his  lifetime  worthy 
of  fame,  unless  any  one  thinks  it  a  very  great  work  to 
heal  lame  and  blind  people  and  exorcise  demoniacs  in  the 
villages  of  Bethsaida  and  Bethlehem.  Schaff^s  Ch.  His. 
pp.  39,  75. 

Porphyry,  a  learned  Phenician  of  Tyre,  born  about  A. 
D.  233,  assails  alike  both  the  books  of  the  Jews  and  the 
Christians.  "  Porphyry  accuses  the  evangelists  for  their 
account  of  Jesus'  walking  on  the  sea,  an  incident  recorded 
in  Matt.  14 :  25,  etc.,  Mark  6  ;  48,  etc.,  and  John  6:  19. 
It  is  also  stated  that  Porphyry  assails  the  account  of  Mat- 
thew's vocation,  which  is  found  only  in  the  gospel  of  this 
evangelist;  that  he  objects  to  Mark  1:2;  and  takes  occa- 
sion from  John  7:  8,  10,  to  accuse  Jesus  of  instability  of 
character."     Storr  mid  Flatt.,  p.  20. 

In  speaking  of  Matthew's  being  a  publican,  of  Jesus' 
walking  on  the  water,  of  John  7 :  8-10,  accusing  Jesus  of 
instability,  and  cittng  the  dispute  between  Paul  and  Peter; 
he  is  a  valuable  witness  that  the  Christian  Scriptures  were 
well  known  at  an  early  day. 

Oracles. — God,  Apollo.  A  man  inquired  what  god  he 
should  propitiate  to  bring  back  his  wife  from  Christianity. 
Apollo  answered,  "he  might  sooner  write  on  the  flowing 
stream,  or  fly  on  the  empty  air,  than  to  change  the  mind 
of  his  wife  after  she  had  once  become  impure  and  godless. 
Leave  her,  then,  to  lament  her  deceased  God."  He  said 
the  judges  condemned  Jesus  to  death  as  a  revolter  against 


92  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

Judaism:  "  for  the  Jews  acknowledged  God,  at  least  more 
than  the  Christians." 

Some  supposed  that  Christ  might  be  worshiped  as  a 
god  along  with  the  other  gods,  and  they  consulted  the  ora- 
cle on  this  point.  The  priests,  who  comj^osed  the  response, 
were  cautious  not  to  say  any  thing  disrespectful  of  Christ. 
The  answer  was,  "  He  who  is  wise,  knows  that  the  soul  rises 
immortal  from  the  body  ;  but  the  soul  of  that  man  is  pre- 
eminent in  piety."  When  they  inquired  further,  why 
Christ  had  sufiered  death,  it  was  responded,  "  To  be  sub- 
jected to  the  weaker  suilerings  is  always  the  lot  of  the 
body,  but  the  soul  of  the  pious  rises  to  the  fields  of  heaven." 

Mohammed.  The  testimony  of  Mohammed  that  Jesus  was  a 
true  prophet,  and  did  truly  rise  from  the  dead,  is  not  to  be 
disregarded.  He  bore  witness,  even  in  his  Koran,  to  Jesus 
as  a  prophet  of  God,  and  puts  to  shame  the  efforts  of 
modern  skeptics.     His  words  are : 

"  Verily,  Christ  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  is  the  Apostle 
of  God,  and  his  word,  which  he  conveyed  unto  Mary  and  a 
spirit,  proceeding  from  him  ;  honorable  in  this  world  and 
in  the  world  to  come  ;  and  one  of  those  who  apjjroach  near 
to  the  presence  ol  God."     Gibbon,  vol.  V.,  p.  102. 

The  Talmud,  the  book  of  Jewish  doctrine,  in  the  sec- 
ond part,  called  the  Gemara,  says,  "Jesus  was  the  ille- 
gitimate son  of  Mary  and  Joseph  Pandira  (a  hair-dresser 
and  a  man  variously  called  Pandira,  Stada,  and  Papas,  a 
soldier).  He  learned  the  magical  arts  in  Egypt,  prac- 
ticed them  in  Palestine;  and  for  this  reason,  as  well  as 
for  seducing  and  instigating  the  Israelites,  he  was  cruci- 
fied on  the  day  preceding  the  passover."  Schafs  Person 
of  Christ,  p.  267. 

The  invidious  character  of  these  allusions  forbids  the 
supposition  of  any  friendly  feeling ;  while  they  all  go  to 
confirm  the  antiquity  of  the  text  as  we  have  it. 

Add  to  this,  that  the  Nestorians,  the  Jacobites,  and  oth- 
er eastern  Christians,  distinct  from  the  Greeks  and  Latins, 
preserved  copies  of  the  ISew  Testament,  which  in  no  re- 
spect  materially   differs  from  ours;  and,    though  modern 


JOSEPHUS'   TESTIMONY.  93 

historians  have  seen  no  copy  of  the  gospel  older  than 
that  of  Mark  transcribed  in  the  fourth  century ;  yet  he 
who  would  dispute  such  overwhelming  evidence  as  is 
given,  is  hardly  capable  of  faith,  or  competent  to  reason. 

Pagan  historians,  philosophers,  statesmen,  priests,  and 
poets  unite  in  the  testimony  to  the  coming  Savior.  The 
Septuagint  version  of  the  Scriptures  widely  known  among 
the  nations  had  raised  a  general  expectation  of  a  deliverer, 
illustrated  by  the  wise  men  coming  from  the  East,  among 
the  first  to  receive  the  Savior. 

'"'•  Suetonius^  ifi  the  life  of  Vespasian,  said  an  ancient, 
"  constant  tradition  has  obtained  throughout  all  the  East, 
"  that  in  the  fates  it  was  decreed,  that  about  that  time, 
"'some  who  should  come  from  Judea  would  obtain  the 
"  dominion  of  the  world.' 

"  Cornelius  Tacitus  speaks  to  the  same  effect,  when 
'speaking  of  the  prodigies  which  preceded  the  destruc- 
"  tion  of  Jerusalem.  He  says,  that  'many  understood 
"  them  as  forerunners  of  that  extraordinary  person,  whom 
"  the  ANCIENT  BOOKS  of  the  priesl  did  foretell  should  come 
"  about  that  time  from  Judea  and  obtain  the  dominion.' 

"  From  the  Jewish  prophets  the  Pagan  sihyls  gave  out 
"  the  oracles,  so  that  the  expectation  was  universal.  The 
"  same  year  that  Pompey  tooK  Jerusalem  one  of  the  sibyl 
"oracles  made  a  great  noise,  'that  Nature  was  about  to 
"  bring  forth  a  king  to  the  liomans.'  Suetonius  says,  this  so 
"  terrified  the  lloman  Senate  tiiat  they  made  a  decree  that 
"  none  born  that  year  should  be  educated.  And  in  his 
"  life  of  Augustus  he  says,  that  ihose  whose  wives  were 
"pregnant  that  year  did  each  conceive  great  hopes,  ap- 
"  plying  the  prophecy  to  themselves. 

"  Appian,  Sallust,  Plutarch,  and  Cicero,  all  say  that 
"this  prophecy  of  the  sibyls  stirred  up  Cornelius  Lentu- 
"  lus  to  think  tliat  he  was  the  man  who  should  be  king  of 
"  the  Romans.  Some  applied  it  to  Caesar.  Cicero  lauglied 
"  at  the  application,  and  affirmed  that  this  prophecy  should 
"  not  be  applied  to  any  one  born  in  Rome. 

"  Even  Virgil  the  poet,  who  wrote  his  fourth  Eclogue 
"  about  the  time  of  Herod  the  Great,  compliments  the 
'Consul  Rollis  with  this  prophecy,  supposing  it  might  re- 
'fer   to  his    son  Salonimes,  then    born.     Virgil    substan- 


94  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

"  tially  quotes  and  versifies  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah,  and 
"applies  them  to  this  cliild  Sulouimes: 

"  The  last  age  decreed  by  Fate  is  come; 
"  And  a  new  trame  of  ail  things  does  begin. 
"  A  holy  progeuy  from  Heaven  descends. 
'•  Auspicioua  be  his  birth!  which  puts  an  end 
"  To  the  iron  age!   and  from  whence  shall  rise 
"  A  golden  state  far  glorious  through  the  earth! 
"The  poet  alludes  to  Isaiaii  65  :  17.     '  Tiie  wolf  and  the 
"lamb  shall  feed  together,  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like 
"  the  ox.     They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy 
"  mountain :' 

•'  Nor  shall  the  flocks  fierce  lions  fear, 
"Nor  serpent  shall  be  there,  nor  herb  of  poisonous  juice. 
"Next  Daniel  9:  27,  is  referred  to: 

"  By  thee  what  footsteps  of  our  sins  remain, 
"  Are  blotted  out,  and  the  whole  world  set  free 
"  From  her  perpetual  bondage  and  her  fear." 
"  The  very  words  of  Haggai  are  referred  to  : 
"  Enter  on  thy  honors!  Now's  the  time, 
"  Otfspring  of  God!    O  thou  great  gitt  of  Jove  I 
"  Behold  this  world!  Heaven,  Earth  and  Seas  do  shake  1 
"  Behold  how  all  rejoice  to  greet  that  glorious  day! 
"  Virgil,  as  if  he  were  skilled  in  the  Jewish  Scriptures, 
"  goes  on  to  state  that  these  glorious  times  should  not  im- 
"  mediately  succeed  the  birth  of  that  wonderful  child  : 
"  Yet  some  remains  shall  still  be  left 
"  Of  ancient  fraud;  and  wars  shall  still  go  on. 
"  Now  the  question  is  not,  whether  Virgil  applied  this 
"partly  to  Augustus,  PoUis,  or  Saionimes  then  born  ;  but 
"  whether  he  did  not  apply  it  to  the  general    expectation 
"everywhere    prevalent,  that  a  wonderful  person  was    to 
"  be  born,  and  a  new  age  to  commence." 

SUMMING    UP. 

Cornelius,  Tacitus,  Pliny,  Trajan,  Hadrian,  Antoninus 
Pius,  Celsus,  Porpliyry,  Julian,  Virgil,  Gibbon,  Philo  and 
other  Pagan  authors,  as  well  as  the  Jew  and  Mohammed, 
testify  in  some  form  to  the  existence  of  Jesus  Christ,  his 
extraordinary  character  and  wonderful  works. 

"The  call  and  mission  of  the  Galilean  fishermen  as 
apostles — 

"The  genuineness  of  the  writings  collected  in  the  New 
Testament — 


SUMMING   UP.  95 

"The  rapid  and  marvelous  progress  of  the  cause — and, 

"The  excellent  character  of  the  Christians,  illustrative 
of  the  tendencies  of  the  religion — 

""  Are  clearly  and  amply  tested  in  the  very  light  in 
which  they  are  set  before  us  in  the  Christian  books. 

•'  The  following  facts  contain  almost  all  the  New  Testa- 
ment history ;  and  1  need  not  again  repeat  that  they  are 
unequivocally  quoted,  or  alluded  to,  as  a  part  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  by  the  unbelieving  witnesses  above  named, 
who  wrote — 

"1.  That  the  Jews'  religion  preceded  the  Christian, 
is  of  the  highest  antiquity,  and  distinguished  by  pecu- 
liarities the  most  extraordinary,  from  every  other  ancient 
or  modern  religion. 

'♦2.  That  John  the  Baptist  appeared  in  Judea ;  in  the 
reign  of  Herod  the  Great,  a  reformer  and  a  preacher  of 
singular  pretensions — of  great  sanctity  of  life,  and  was 
well  received  by  the  people;  but  was  cruelly  and  unjustly 
murdered  in  prison  by  Herod  the  Tetrarch.    Josephus. 

"3.  That  Jesus,  who  was  called  the  Messiah,  was  born 
in  Judea,  in  the  reign  of  Augustus  Cgesar,  of  a  very  humble 
and  obscure  woman,  and  amidst  a  variety  of  extraordinary 
circumstances.     Talinud  Geinara. 

"-  4.  That  he  was,  while  an  infant,  on  account  of  perse- 
cution, carried  into  Egypt;  but  was  brought  back  again 
into  the  country  of  his  nativity. 

"5.  That  there  were  certain  prophetic  writings  of 
high  antiquity,  from  which  it  had  been  inferred  that  a 
very  extraordinary  personage  was  to  arise  in  Judea,  or  in 
the  East,  and  from  thence  to  carry  his  conquests  over  the 
whole  earth.      Virgil. 

"  6.  That  this  person  was  generally  expected  all  over 
the  East  about  the  time  in  which  the  gospel  began  to  be 
preached. 

"  7.  That  Jesus,  who  is  called  Christ,  taught  a  new 
and  strange  doctrine. 

"  8.  That  by  some  means  he  performed  certain  won- 
derful and  supernatural  actions  in  confirmation  of  his  new 
doctrine. 

"  9.  That  he  collected  disciples  in  Judea,  who  though 
of  humble  birth  and  very  low  circumstances,  became  fa- 
mous through  various  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  progress  of  the  Christian  doctrine. 

"  10.  That  Jesus  Christ  was  the  founder  of  a  new  re- 
ligion, now  called  the  Christian  religion. 


96  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"  11,  That  while  Pontius  Pilate  was  governor  of  Judea, 
and  Tiberius  emperor  at  liome,  he  was  publicly  executed 
as  a  criminal.      Gihhon. 

"  12.  That  this  new  religion  was  then  checked  for  a 
while. 

"  13.  That  by  some  strange  occurrence,  not  men- 
tioned, it  broke  out  again  and  i)rogressed  with  the  most 
astonishing  rapidity. 

"14.  That  in  the  days  of  Tacitus  there  was  in  the  city 
of  Rome  an  immense  number  of  Christians. 

"15.  That  some  Christians  were  during  the  reign  of 
Nero,  or  about  thirty  years  after  the  death  of  Christ,  per- 
secuted to  death  by  that  emperor. 

"16.  That  constancy  (called  obstinacy  by  some  Pagan 
governments)  in  maintaining  the  heavenly  and  exclusively 
divine  origin  of  their  religion,  is  the  only  crime  proved 
against  the  Christians,  as  appears  from  all  the  records  of 
their  enemies,  on    account  of  which  they  suffered   death. 

"  17.  That  in  the  year  70,  or  before  those  who  had 
seen  Jesus  Christ  had  all  died,  Jerusalem  and  the  Temple 
were  destroyed  by  the  Romans  (all  the  Jewish  sacrifices 
had  ceased),  and  all  the  tremendous  calamities  foretold  of 
that  time  by  Moses  and  Christ  were  fully  visited  upon  the 
disobedient  and  gainsaying  people.     Josejikus. 

"18.  That  the  Christians  made  a  conlession  of  their 
faith,  and  were  baptized,  and  met  at  stated  times  to  worship 
the  Lord. 

"  19.  That  in  their  stated  meetings  they  bound  them- 
selves, by  the  solemnities  of  their  religion,  to  abstain  from 
moral  evil,  and  to  practice  all  moral  good.     Pliny. 

"20.  That  the  communities  which  they  established 
were  well  organized,  and  were  under  the  superintendence 
of  bishops  and  deacons.      Gihhon. 

"21.  That  Jews,  Genliles,  Barbarians,  of  all  castes, 
and  persons  of  every  rank  and  condition  in  life,  at  the  risk 
and  sacrifice  of  the  friendship  of  the  world,  of  property,  and 
of  life,  embraced  this  religion  and  conformed  to  all  its 
moral  and  religious  requisitions.     Tacitus. 

"These  specifications,  independent  of  all  that  is  quoted  by 
Celsus,  Porphyry,  and  Julian,  from  Old  or  New  Testament, 
in  their  proper  import  and  connections,  do  fully  contain  all 
the  i)eculiar  elements  of  the  Christian  religion  as  displayed 
and  enforced  on  the  pages  of  the  New  Institution.  These 
constitute  the  skeleton  of  the  New  Testament. 


THIRD   CENTURY.  97 

THE  AGE  OF  TRIUMPH. 

MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  102,  ROMAN  DEPARTURE  105,  NOVATIAN 
107,  SABELLIUS  109,  PAUL  OF  SAMOSATA,  COUNCIL  OF  ANTIOCH, 
HOMOOUSION,  125,  OFFICERS  130,  CHURCH  TEACHERS  136,  TRIN- 
ITY 139,  ANTIOCH  1-12,  BAPTISM  1-17,  SUPPER  150,  SABBATH  151, 
MIRACLES  153,  MUSIC  154,  UNITY  155,  WAR,  MARRIAGE,  156, 
SPORTS  155,  CHARITY  157,  HONESTY  159,  PRAYER  161,  EDUCA- 
TION 163,  ATHEISM  164,  APOCHRYPHAL  TESTAMENT,  APOSTOLICAL 
CANONS,  CONSTITUTIONS,  AND  SIBYLINE  ORACLES,  165,  PERSECU- 
TION 171,  THUNDERING  LEGION  175,  EMPERORS  FROM  A.  D.  14  TO 
A.  D.  306,  178. 

HORIIIBLE    STATE    OF   THE    PAGAN    WORLD. 

Haweis  says  f  "  Dismal  and  dark  was  the  state  of  man- 
kind. With  the  heathen  sunk  in  the  grossest  idolatiy,  the 
foulest  crimes  were  sanctified  by  the  examples  of  the  gods. 
The  Jews  were  zealous  for  Moses,  and  proud  of  Abraham, 
but  dead  to  spiritual  religion.  The  whole  earth  was  im- 
merged  in  the  universal  deluge  of  prevailing  corruption." 

Waddington  says :  "  We  shall  never  do  justice  to  the 
history  of  our  religion,  unless  we  continually  bear  in  mind 
the  low  condition  of  society  and  morals  existing  among 
the  people  to  whom  it  was  first  delivered-"     (p.  55.) 

The  slaughter  of  the  infants  of  Bethlehem  reflects  the 
general  aspect  of  society.  Herod  also  butchered  part  of 
his  own  family,  yet  is  a])plauded  in  history.  The  behead- 
ing of  John  in  prison,  that  the  gory  head  might  be  present- 
ed to  the  young  princessfor  her  mother,  the  granddaughter 
of  the  same  Herod,  shows  tlie  savage  nature  of  the  best 
classes  of  society.  Paul  says  :  "  They  changed  the  glory 
of  the  uncorruptible  God  into  an  image  made  like  to  cor- 
ruptible man,  and  to  birds  and  to  four-footed  beasts,  and 
creeping  things.  Their  throat  is  an  open  sepulcher, 
with  their  tongues  they  have  used  deceit;  the  poison  of 
asps  is  under  their  lips  :  whose  mouth  is  full  of  cursing 
7 


89  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

and  bitterness:  their  feet   are   swift   to   shed   blood:  de 
struction  and  misery  are  in  their  ways." 

At  Antioch,  Corinth,  Athens,  Sparta  and  Rome,  chil- 
dren were  subject  to  the  most  cruel  caprice  of  the  fa- 
ther's will ;  to  be  disowned  at  birth,  exposed  in  infancy, 
bound  out  as  slaves  in  youth,  or  sold  even  in  maturity. 

The  brutality  of  the  Romans  to  their  offspring,  says 
Henry  Home,  was  glaring.  "  Children  were  held,  like 
''cattle,  to  be  their  father's  property  ;  and  so  tenacious  was 
"this  power  of  the  father,  that  if  a  son  or  daughter  sold  to 
"be  a  slave  was  set  free,  the  son  or  the  daughter  tell  again 
"  under  the  father's  power,  to  be  sold  a  second  or  even  a 
"  third  time.  A  son  being  a  slave  could  have  no  property 
"of  his  ow^n.  In  Athens  a  man  had  power  of  liie  and 
"  death  over  his  children.  So  late  as  the  days  of  Diocle- 
"sian,  a  son's  marriage  did  not  dissolve  the  power  of  the 
"Roman  father  over  his  son.  The  eifect  of  such  unnatural 
"  powers  was  to  destroy  natural  affection  between  parents 
"  and  their  children.  When  the  children,  who  had  been 
"  thus  cruelly  used  by  their  parents,  were  at  length  set 
"free  from  their  power,  it  was  no  UiNCOMmon  thing  for  them 
"  to  repay  the  cruelty  of  their  parents  by  contempt  and 
"  HATRED.  Hence  the  parent,  if  he  were  allowed  to  live, 
"  would  frequently  be  left  to  groan  under  the  infirmities 
"  of  age  without  sympathy,  and  allowed  to  die  of  want, 
"  while  his  children  were  rolling  in  abundance.  The  de- 
"scription  of  them  by  the  Apostle  was  no  more  than  truth  : 
"they  were  disobedient  to  parents,  without  understanding, 
"  without  natural  aifection,  implacable,  unmercitul,  hate- 
"  ful,  and  hating  one  another." 

The  care  in  Sparta  vvas  to  train  their  children  to  love 
their  country  ;  and  for  the  glory  in  defending  it,  they 
ivere  trained  to  endure  hunger,  thirst,  cold,  heat,  hardships, 
labor.  Mothers  were  trained  to  see  their  children  suffer 
and  expire  under  the  whip  without  concern:  and  the  fa- 
ther to  say  when  informed  of  the  death  of  his  boy,  ''Let 
us  at  present  think  how  to  conquer  the  enemy;  to-morrow 
1  will  mourn  for  my  son."  Their  gods  were  as  multiform 
as  sensual  desires.  They  worshiped  the  god  of  wine  in 
drunken  carnival.  They  honored  the  gods  of  love  in  vo- 
luptuous debauchery.     Their  devotion  was  degrading,  their 


HORRIBLE    STATE    OF   THE    PAGAN   WORLD.  99 

religion  a  compound  of  cruel  sacrifices,  whimsical  notions, 
impious  opinions,  impure  ordinances  and  barbarous  rites. 
Their  worship  honored  brutal  love,  and  scandalized  human 
modesty.  The  dearest  victims  shrieked  on  bleeding  altars. 
Lovely  children  were  cast  into  fiery  furnace  gods.  Human 
blood  was  the  great  oblation. 

Who  has  not  heard  wliere  Egypt's  realms  are  named — 

What  monster  gods  her  frantic  sons  have  framed? 

Here,  Ibis,  gorged  with  well-grown  serpents,  there 

The  Crocodile  commands  religious  fear  ; 

Where  Memnon's  statue,  magic  strings  inspire 

With  vocal  sounds  that  emulate  the  lyre  ; 

A  monkej'-god — prodigious  to  behold — 

Strikes  the  beholder's  eye,  with  burnished  gold  ; 

To  godship  here,  blue  Triton's  scaly  herd  ; 

The  river  Progeny  is  there  preferred  ; 

Through  towns,  Diana's  power  neglected  lies, 

Where  to  her  gods  aspiring  temples  rise, 

And  leeks  and  onions  should  you  eat,  no  time 

Would  expiate  the  sacrilegious  crime  ; 

Religious  nations'  sure  and  blest  abodes, 

Where  every  orchard  is  o'errun  with  gods. 

Said  Lucian  :  "In  a  magnificent  temple,  every  part  of 
which  glitters  with  gold  and  silver,  you  look  attentively 
for  a  god,  and  are  cheated  with  a  stork,  an  ape  or  a  cat." 
liol  i.  44. 

The  gods  of  the  Phenicians  were  multitudinous  and 
impotent,  yet  the  sacrifice  of  children  cast  into  the  fiery 
Moloch  was  their  inhuman  worship.  The  Carthaginians,  of 
the  same  race,  sacrificed  their  children.  Rol.  i.  235.  At 
one  time,  to  please  their  bloodthirsty  god,  two  hundred 
children  of  the  best  families,  and  upward  of  three  hun- 
dred other  persons  were  offered  in  horrid  sacrifice. 

All  around  the  Hebrews,  on  every  side.  East,  West, 
North  and  South,  arose  the  most  costly  temples,  where 
sensual  and  voluptuous  pleasure  was  mingled  with  religious 
rites  in  costly  magnificence.  In  the  Taganath  temple  cour- 
tesans were  supported  for  over  one  million  two  hundred 
thousand  annual  worshipers.  For  miles  around  the  ground 
was  covered  with  human  bones,  where  dogs  and  vultures 
fed,  presenting  altogether  the  most  revolting  and  heart- 
harrowing  scene  of  the  cruel  abominations  of  idolatry. 
Multitudes  wallowed  in  the  indulgence  of  princely  luxury ; 


100  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

drunkenness,  and  debauchery,  mingled  with  the  religion  of 
idolatry.  Temples  enriched  by  the  princely  munificence 
of  powerful  empires  arrayed  in  costly  splendor  under  the 
garb  of  worship,  led  the  youth  from  virtue's  path,  and 
turned  the  aged  out  of  the  way. 

The  sacrifice  of  two  thousand  virgins  annually  polluted 
the  temple  of  Venus.  The  disciples  of  Bacchus  degraded 
the  Imman  race  in  every  city  by  their  beastliness.  Baby- 
lon, Phenicia,  Carthage,  Kome,  all  united  with  the  cruel 
and  polluted  Canaanites  in  the  abomination  of  human  sac- 
rifice, and  the  most  degrading  development  of  humanity 
was  found  in  religious  devotion.  The  gods  were  examples 
of.  lust.  The  sacrifices  the  oiferings  of  sin.  The  prayers 
were  for  selfish  ambition.  Their  oracles  promoters  of 
crime.  The  poor  man's  cause  was  always  lost.  A  patron 
god  was  found  for  every  sin.  There  were  thirty  thousand 
gods  in  Greece,  but  only  one  altar  to  the  great  Unknown. 
Rome,  more  religious,  adopted  all  the  gods,  river  and  sea' 
gods,  field  and  flood  gods,  sober  and  drunken  gods,  great 
and  little  gods,  gods  all  around,  gods  everywhere.  Robinson 
says  the  various  modes  of  worship  were  all  considered  by 
the  people  equally  true,  by  the  philosophers  equally  false, 
md  by  the  magistrates  equally  useful.  The  religion  was 
the  engine  of  aggression  used  by  the  great,  and  supported 
by  the  ruling  classes,  in  all  the  costly  magnificence  which 
gold  could  command  or  voluptuousness  require.  They  had 
eloquence  in  the  orators,  cunning  in  the  oracles,  ingenuity 
in  the  philosophers,  cruelty  in  the  magistrates,  and  credu- 
lity in  the  people. 

In  Rome  slaves  were  frequently  slain  when  known  to 
be  innocent ;  and  most  noble  prisoners  were  treated  with 
the  greatest  cruelty.  Tacitus  says :  "  A  Roman  lady  be- 
ing found  murdered,  all  the  slaves  to  the  number  of  four 
hundred  were  immediately  put  to  death,  according  to  the 
ancient  custom."  A7i.  xiv.  43.  It  is  recorded  of  Vedius 
Pollio,  that  it  was  his  custom  to  punish  his  slaves  for  tri- 
fling faults  by  throwing  them  into  his  fish  ponds,  to  feed 


HORRIBLE   STATE   OF   THE   PAGAN    WORLD.  101 

his  lampreys.  Often  the  porters  at  the  palace  gates  were 
chained  slaves.  Aged  and  infirm  slaves  were  often  ban- 
ished to  an  island  in  the  Tiber  to  perish.  Wars  were  waged 
with  the  avowed  purpose  of  robbery  and  gain.  Countries 
were  depopulated,  the  citizens  slaughtered  and  sold  into 
slavery  withaut  remorse.  Titus,  the  humane,  "the  darling 
of  mankind,"  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  sent  Nero 
as  a  present  six  thousand  young  men  for  slaves.  Thirty 
thousand  were  sold  into  slavery  into  Egypt.  Eleven  thou- 
sand from  a  spirit  of  vengeance  he  caused  to  perish  by 
starvation.  Two  thousand  five  hundred  he  murdered  in 
honor  of  his  mother's  birthday,  and  a  larger  number  for 
his  father's.  Thirty  thousand  were  sent  to  various  Roman 
provinces  to  die  by  the  sword  or  wild  beasts  in  the  thea- 
ters to  amuse  the  populace ;  "  butchered  to  make  a  Roman 
holiday."  Whole  armies  were  butchered,  blinded  or  muti- 
lated after  surrendering.  Mothers  publicly  murdered  their 
children.  Young  men  of  the  best  society  publicly  boasted 
of  their  debaucheries ;  and  in  all  the  pagan  world  there 
was  not  one  house  of  mercy;  not  one  refuge  for  human 
want,  one  asylum  for  poverty,  age,  infirmity,  sickness,  or 
decrepitude.  The  laws  were  for  oppression.  The  temples 
were  brothels.  Religion  was  a  cheat,  and  life  a  burden. 
The  people  were  familliar  with  gladitorial  shows,  crucifix- 
ions, breaking  the  legs  of  criminals,  branding  in  the  face? 
burning  out  the  ej^es,  debauchery  in  the  temple,  yet  the 
professed  miracles,  and  divine  illuminations  appealed  to 
heaven  for  authority. 

We  may  imagine  the  thoughtful  pagan  looking  back 
before  forsaking  the  religion  of  his  fathers.  But  every- 
where he  finds  a  want  of  love  for  humanity  as  such.  In 
no  place  does  he  find  a  house  of  mercy.  If  he  looks  for 
justice  he  will  find  Aristides  the  just  man  ostracized.  If 
he  looks  for  the  worship  of  one  God,  Socrates  dying 
charged  with  that  faith,  with  his  dying  breath  orders  a 
sacrifice  to  Esculapius.  If  he  looks  for  the  virtuous  Peri- 
cles,  he  finds  him  living  with  a  harlot.     If  he  looks  for 


102  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

patriotism,  he  will  find  the  Spartans,  as  directed  by  law, 
slaughtering  their  best  looking  slaves  (the  aborigines  of 
the  country),  as  a  holiday  exercise,  lest  by  sparing  thera 
they  might  excite  an  insurrection.  If  he  looks  for  parent- 
al affection,  he  may  find  unfortunate  or  female  infants  cast 
outside  the  walls  of  the  city  to  die,  see  their,  bones  scat- 
tered around,  and  perhaps  one  not  dead,  with  its  little 
hand  vainly  pushing  off  the  head  of  the  bloody  dog  that 
is  devouring  it.  He  looks  for  public  schools,  and  finds  for- 
ty thousand  people  assembled  to  see  the  gladiators  com- 
pelled to  butcher  each  other ;  or  naked  men  and  women 
led  into  the  arena  to  be  devoured  by  wild  beasts  for  the 
amusement  of  patrician  crowds  of  beauty  and  fashion  • 
and  there  he  sees  the  very  Christians  to  whose  preaching 
and  prayers  he  has  listened  and  of  whom  he  has  learned 
the  great  salvation,  sealing  their  dying  testimony  with  the 
blood  of  martyrdom.  With  sickening  heart  he  turns  his 
eyes  toward  Him  who  died  for  us  all,  as  his  only  hope. 

MANNERS   AND   CUSTOMS,    ETC. 

The  emperors  wore  a  diadem  set  with  precious  stones ; 
and  a  purple  tunic ;  with  silken  robes  embroidered  with 
gold ;  and  sat  upon  a  throne  of  gold ;  or  rode  in  chariots 
adorned  with  gold  and  precious  stones ;  drawn  by  white 
horses  or  mules;  and  attended  by  guards  in  gay  apparel 
covered  with  gold.  The  officers  of  state  wore  garments 
of  silk,  adorned  with  gold  ;  and  the  servants  sometimes 
numbering  thousands  were  magnificently  dressed.  In  the 
palaces  the  roofs  and  ceilings  were  covered  with  gold ; 
the  doors  were  of  ivory,  the  floors  marble,  and  all  was 
ornamented  with  gold  and  precious  stones.  There  were 
chairs  of  ivory ;  and  pots  and  dishes  of  silver  and  gold ; 
golden  vases  and  tables  adorned  with  gold. 

Attending  feasts  were  musicians,  singers  and  players  on 
the  flute  and  the  lyre  ;  the  footmen  were  magnificently 
dressed.  The  meats  were  fowls,  pheasants,  beef,  fish,  etc. 
The  person  was  adorned  with  ear-rings  and  finger-rings, 


HERESIES.   HERETICS.    "  FALLING   AWAY."   ROME.  103 

and  golden  bracelets.  They  carried  pocket-books  with 
pages  to  write,  and  rub  oflf  the  writing.  In  their  games 
there  was  no  deference  to  modesty.  The  Athletae  were 
naked,  and  upon  the  stage  women  often  appeared  quite 
naked ,  sometimes  swimming  in  large  baths  in  sight  of  the 
assembly  ;  at  other  times  dressed  in  gaudy  robes,  singing 
obscene  songs.  Rope  dancers  would  undress  and  dress 
upon  the  rope :  and  every  variety  was  introduced  that 
could  excite  the  sense  or  charm  the  imagination. 

At  mai'riages  there  were  immodest  dances,  songs  in 
honor  of  Venus,  and  obscene  representations.  At  funer- 
als the  bodies  of  the  rich  were  wrapped  in  silken  robes ; 
carried  to  the  grave  on  gilded  beds ;  with  hired  mourning 
women.  The  mourning  clothes  were  black,  a  foolish  prac- 
tice still  continued.  (The  Persians  and  Scythians  often 
married  their  own  mothers.  The  Scythians  built  no  houses 
but  lived  in  carts.)  Transparent  stones  were  used  in  the 
windows. 

A.   D.   251.   HERESIES.   HERETICS.   "FALLING  AWAY."    ROME. 

Jesus  said :  "  I  have  chosen  you  twelve,  and  one  of  you 
is  a  devil."  So  also  there  were  false  teachers  in  the  days 
of  the  apostles,  as  we  read ;  some  denied  the  resurrection ; 
some  denied  that  Christ  had  come  in  the  flesh;  some 
called  themselves  after  human  leaders ;  some  denied  that 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God ;  some  held  the  doctrine  of  the 
Nicolatines  :  and  soon  we  find  such  names  as  Ebionites,  Naz- 
arenes,  and  Gnostics  given.  These  do  not  necessarily  signify 
false  churches  or  even  false  teachers  ;  but  teachers,  or  peo- 
ple, or  forms  of  faith  unpopular  with  other  teachers :  the 
real  doctrine  of  such  teachers  being  superseded  by  other 
doctrines  perhaps  farther  from  the  truth ;  whose  advo- 
cates magnified  the  extreme  sentiments  of  the  former.  The 
truth  is  there  was  scarcely  an  erroneous  opinion  held  by 
the  erring  disciples  of  the  first  period  of  the  church's  his- 
tory, but  will  find  duplicate  errors  in  the  creeds,  or  wor- 


104  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

shipers  of  modern  "  orthodox ''  sects.  The  first  plain  in- 
novation was  by  the  church  at  Rome.  The  pastors  of  this 
church  early  imbibed  the  opinion  that  as  Rome  was  the 
great  city,  the  seat  of  empire,  that  therefore  their  author- 
ity was  of  more  weight  than  others  ;  and  other  churches 
loved  to  appeal  to  the  authority  of  the  bishop  of  a  great 
metropolis  as  is  natural,  and  illustrated  in  all  ages. 

Rome's  first  error  in  faith  was  rejecting  for  a  long  time 
both  Hebrews  and  Revelation.  Though  she  admitted  her 
error  finally  by  adopting  them,  it  gave  rise  to  a  scan- 
dal, widespread  as  the  church,  and  furnished  objections 
for  the  skeptic  as  lasting  as  unbelief 

Rome's  first  error  of  innovation  was  concerning  Easter. 
The  first  Christians  celebrated  the  anniversary  of  the  Sup- 
per at  night  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  first  spring  moon, 
for  which  time  both  Eusebius  and  the  Roman  historians 
record  good  authority.  But  Rome  changed  it  to  Sunday, 
for  which  no  such  authority  can  be  cited,  but  only  cer- 
tain snyods,  bishops,  and  churches.  Euseb.  v.  98.  Euse- 
bius says  : 

"The  Asiatic  churches  celebrated  Easter  upon  the  four- 
"  teeuth  day  of  the  moon's  age,  whatever  day  of  the  week 
"it  happened  to  be,  as  the  Jews  did  at  the  passover,  and 
"pleaded  the  authority  of  their  tradition  ;  the  practice  of 
"St.  John,  St.  Philip  and  his  daughters,  Polycarp,  Thraseas, 
"  bishop  of  Eumania,  Sagaris,  bishop  of  Laodicea,  and 
"martyr,  Papirus,  Mileto,  and  seven  bishops  that  had  been 
"all  of  his  own  family;  moreover  he  urged  the  authority 
"  of  a  large  council  of  bishops  which  he  had  called  and 
"  presided  in,  and  lastly  his  own,  with  regard  to  the  num- 
"  ber  of  years  he  had  lived  and  the  general  conversation 
"  he  had  cultivated  with  his  brethren.  On  the  contrary, 
"  all  other  churches,  down  from  the  times  of  the  apostles, 
"  had  celebrated  the  feast  upon  no  other  day  of  the  week 
"but  the  Lord's  day,"  etc.  "Such  a  zealot  was  Victor, 
"  bishop  of  Rome,  *  *  *  as  to  excommunicate  all  the 
"Asiatic  churches,  and  all  others  that  adhered  to  them. 
"  For  which  rigor,  several  of  his  brethren  of  the  episcopal 
"  college  rebuked  him,  particularly  Irenaeus,  in  an  epistle 
"  which  he  wrote  him  in  the  name  of  the  council  he  pre- 


HERESIES,    HERETICS.    "  FALLING   AWAY."    ROME.  105 

"sided  over,  *  *  *  and  alleges  to  him  the  example  of  his 
"own  predecessors,  Syxtus,  Telephorus,  Hyginus,  Pins  and 
"  Anicetus,  between  whom  and  Polycarp  this  diversity  of 
"practice  had  not  created  the  least  misunderstanding." 
"Euseb.  V.  98. 

All  Eusebius  says  concerning  the  synod's  favoring  Rome 
only  confirms  the  opinion,  that  the  change  was  an  innova- 
tion as  the  Romans  are  forced  to  confess. 

Reeves,  the  "  Catholic,"  an  approved  historian  in  that 
corporation,  I  will  present  as  the  principal  witness.  Be  not 
surprised  at  his  contradicting  himself.  Writers  of  that 
"  Church"  are  not  worthy  of  credit,  and  only  to  be  believed 
when  as  in  the  present  instance  truth  is  forced  from  them 
contrary  to  their  own  will.  At  first  Easter  meant  the 
Pasoha  or  the  "  Supper."     See  Acts  12:  4. 

Rekves.  "  St.  John  had  hitherto  preached  the  gospel 
"  without  molestation  in  Asia  Minor,  where  he  founded 
"several  particular  churches,  which  he  continued  to  gov- 
"ern  by  his  apostolic  authority.  He  resided  chiefly  at 
"Ephesus."  (p.  28.)  "St.  John  the  Evangelist  seems  to 
"have  celebrated  Easter  according  to  the  ancient  custom 
"  of  the  Jews,  in  keeping  their  Passover  on  the  fourteenth 
"day  of  the  vernal  equinoctial  moon,  on  whatever  day  of 
"the  week  it  might  chance  to  fall.  The  Asiatic  churches 
"still  adhered  to  that  practice,  while  the  southern  and 
"  western  churches,  guided  by  the  authority  of  St.  Peter 
"and  St.  Paul,  kept  Easter  day  on  the  Sunday  iollowing. 
"  Upon  this  point,  then,  there  was  a  manifest  diflerence 
"between  the  east  and  the  west.  But  it  was  a  point  of 
"  ceremony  only,  a  point  of  mere  discipline,  not  of  belief. 
"For  all  believed  the  mystery  of  Christ's  resurrection; 
"  their  only  disagreement  was  about  the  day  on  which  the 
"memory  of  it  was  to  be  celebrated.  Pius  I.,  who  suc- 
"ceeded  Hyginus,  wished  to  establish  a  uniformity  of  time 
"in  the  observance  of  that  great  festival  through  the  whole 
"  church,  and  published  an  order  to  that  effect.  This  drew 
"  St.  Polcarp,  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  to  Rome,  about  the  year 
"158.  But  Pius  was  then  dead,  and  Anicetus  had  suc- 
''ceeded  him.  Anicetus,  following  the  steps  of  his  prede- 
"  cesser,  used  his  endeavors  to  persuade  the  Asiatic  pre- 
"late  into  his  opinion  concerning  the  celebration  of  Easter 
"  day.    His  arguments  were  strong,  but  Polycarp  was  te- 


106  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

"  nacious  of  a  custom  which  had  been  sanctioned  by  St, 
^^John,  his  evangelical  master.  Anicetus,  out  of  respect 
"to  the  Evangelist  and  his  virtuous  disciple,  did  not  choose 
"  to  urge  his  own  autliority,  and  there  the  matter  rested." 
(p.  -iO.)  ''In  every  place,  except  Jijj/tesus,  there  was  but 
''  07ie  oj)inion,  and  tins  opinion  was,  that  the  Roman  cus- 
"  torn  of  celebrating  Easter  upon  the  iSunday  was  sanction- 
"  ed  by  apostolic  authority  and  apostolic  tradition,*  and 
"  ought  to  be  observed  by  all.  Eromthis  general  opinion  of 
"  the  bishops,  Eolycrates,  the  bishop  of  Ephesus,  thought 
"proper  to  dissent."  (p.  51.)  "He  grounded  his  dissent  upon 
"  the  practice  of  his  pious  predecessors,  nor  could  he,  by  any 
"  argument  or  reason,  be  prevailed  upon  to  abandon  a  prac- 
"  tice  which  he  found  established  in  his  church.  His  author- 
"  ity  induced  some  other  bishops  of  Asia  Minor  to  retain  the 
"  same  practice.  Their  obstinacy  gave  great  offense."  (p. 
62.)  ''  Our  blessed  Redeemer  had  risen  from  the  dead 
"upon  a  kSunday  ;  in  memory  of  that  glorious  mystery  the 
"Jewish  Sabbath  had  been  altered  from  Saturday  to  the 
"  Sunday  by  ecclesiastical  authority,  after  lohich  it  seemed 
"absurd  to  celebrate  the  feast  of  the  iiesurrection  on  any 
"  other  day  than  a  Sunday.  A  charitable  consideration 
"for  the  Jews  had  first  given  rise  to  the  toleration  in  Asia; 
"  the  motive  for  that  toleration  was  now  completely  done 
"  away  by  the  ruin  of  the  Jewish  nation ;  the  continuation 
"of  it  began  lo  cause  scandal  among  the  Eaithful;  by 
"some  it  was  condemned  as  a  blot  in  ecclesiastical  disci- 
"pline."  (p.  51.)  "Judaic  prejudices,  it  seems,  were  not 
"yet  worn  away;  the  time  has  not  yet  come  for  enforcing 
"  a  unitormity  in  the  celebration  of  Easter  through  the  uni- 
"  versal  church.  lren£eus,  bishop  of  L^^ons,  interfered  in 
"  the  name  of  the  his/iojjs  of  Gaul,  and  strongly  repre- 
"  sented  to  the  holy  Fatlier,  that  in  the  present  dispute, 
"  severe  censures  were  likely  to  produce  more  harm  than 
"  good.  Upon  this,  Victor  prudently  desisted  from  all  fur- 
"  ther  proceedings,  and  Ephesus,  and  some  few  churches 
"  of  Asia  Minor,  were  quietly  left  in  possession  of  their 
"  former  practice,  till  the  question  was  linally  decided  in 
"the  General  Council  of  ISlice."    (p.  52.)* 

The  historian  states  that  St.  John,  the  apostle,  estab- 
lished Easter  on  the  fourteenth  day ;  that  Tolycarp  and 
his  successors  contended  for  the  fourteenth  day,  but  that 
the  church  at  Ephesus  was  the  only  church  that  did  cou- 

*I  set  the  aboTe  extracts  from  printed  copy.    Compositor, 


RIVAL    BISHOPS NOVATIAN   AND  CORNELIUS.  107 

tend  for  it ;  yet  the  church  at  Smyrna  and  the  churches 
of  Asia  contended  for  it,  and  retained  it;  but  all  the 
churches  of  the  west  held  with  the  Koman  custom  of  hold- 
ing it  on  Sunday.  So  the  bishop  of  Rome,  says  Eusebius, 
excommunicated  all  the  churches  which  with  St.  John 
celebrated  it  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  month ;  for 
which  he  was  sharply  reproved  by  Irenaeus  and  the  coun- 
cil of  bishops  in  Gaul,  as  his  predecessor  had  been  re- 
proved by  Polycarp.  What  a  lesson  is  here  !  A  confess- 
edly apostolical  custom  is  annihilated,  and  a  sacred  day  is 
changed  in  some  of  the  strongest  churches  of  antiquity. 
I  give  Roman  printed  copy,  which  the  printer  will  at- 
test, lest  any  may  think  that  even  a  Roman  historian  can 
not  so  contradict  himself,  and,  while  professing  piety  and 
faith,  fight  against  what  he  confesses  was  established  by 
St.  John  the  apostle.  The  Christians  in  England  (Britain) 
then  "  followed  the  tradition  of  eastern  churches."  Jortin, 
iii.  51. 

RIVAL   BISHOPS — NOVATIAN   AND    CORNELIUS. 

The  bishoprick  of  Rome  becoming  a  desirable  position, 
wicked  men  began  to  covet  it,  and  Cornelius  and  Novatian 
were  both  elevated  to  the  place,  the  first  by  popular  will, 
and  the  last  by  the  Christians.  Cornelius'  election  was 
said  to  be  illegal.  His  character  was  stained  by  charges 
of  corruption.  Christians  suffering  in  prison  gave  their 
signatures  against  him ;  and  he  in  return  accused  Nova- 
tian of  being  ordained  by  bishops  who  were  drunken.  The 
character  of  Novatian  seems  however  above  reproach. 
His  adherents  were  called  by  their  enemies,  the  saints, 
""catharif  who  opposed  the  lax  discipline  of  the  church; 
objected  to  receiving  those  who,  in  the  persecution,  de- 
nied Christ ;  and  insisted  that  though  they  might  obtain 
pardon  of  God,  "  the  church  had  no  power  to  absolve 
them."  The  party  of  Cornelius  say  that  Novatian  "  had 
a  carriage  of  great  virtue  and  austere  morality,"  and  man- 
ifested  a  "  warm    zeal    for  ecclesiastical  discipline  ;"  but 


108  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

reproach  him  with  "  writing  abroad  wliat  happened  at 
Rome"  to  the  injurj^  of  Cornelius.  The  cause  ofKovatian 
was  warmly  espoused  by  Novatus  who  had  fled  from  Africa 
on  account  of  having  opposed  Cyprian  in  his  too  hasty  re- 
ception of  apostates.  Cyprian  sustained  Cornelius,  and 
Cornelius  governed  the  jDopular  voice  ;  and  linally  Corneli- 
us, Novatian  and  Cyprian  all  died  for  Him  who  died  for 
them.  Without  doubt  the  Novatians  were  the  true  church, 
adhered  to  by  the  just  and  good.  But  his  baptism  having 
been  by  aspersion,  on  a  sick  bed,  operated  against  him  ; 
as  the  church  at  Rome  had  a  canon,  that  though  such  were 
baptized,  yet  they  could  not  be  admitted  to  ordination. 
We  find  the  Novatians  spoken  of  as  a  strong  body  of  pu- 
ritans down  late  in  the  fifth  century;  but  they  were  final- 
ly exterminated  by  fire  and  sword.  The  following  extracts 
ma}^  be  interesting  to  the  student : 

Reeves^  the  Roman,  says :  '•'  Bishops  not  so  well  informed 
were  inclined  to  give  credit  to  Novatian's  narrative.  This 
short  schism  *  *  was  the  first  in  Rome."     p.  'o^. 

Jortin^  ii.  424,  says:  "Paul,  the  Novatian  bishop,  A.  D. 
432,  miraculously  saved  his  church  by  his  prayers,  from 
being  burnt ;  as  Socrates  positively  assures  us." 

Socrates  says  again:  "-The  church  of  the  Novatians 
was  demolished  at  Constantinople,  in  the  fourth  century." 
"Again,  having  built  it  more  beautiful  and  magnificent 
than  before,  they  gave  it  the  name  of  Anastasia."  Again, 
"The  Arians  were  superior  in  numbers  and  streng<:h." 
Soc.  Soz.  p.  295.  So  that  the  Novatians  continued  at  least 
several  hundred  years. 

A.  D.  425,  "  Celestus,  bishop  of  Rome,  continued  the 
persecution,  and  also  took  away  from  the  Novatians  the 
churches  which  they  had  at  Rome,  yet  they  difi'ered  only 
in  character."     Jor.  ii.  388. 

Neander  says  that  "  Novatian  during  sickness,  in  the 
"  apprehension  of  death,  received  baptism,  but  baptism 
"  only  by  sprinkling,  as  his  condition  required,  (the  baptis- 
"  mus  clinicorum  not  being  according  to  the  usual  practice 
"  of  those  times,  by  immersion,)  if  it  could  be  said,  indeed, 
"  that  such  a  one  had  been  baptized  at  all.  It  is  objected, 
"  moreover,  that  subsequently  he  received  none  of  those 
"  rites  which  should  have  been  bestowed  on  him  according 
"  to   the   usages    of   the   church — not  continuation  by  the 


RIVAL   BISHOPS —NOVATIAN   AND   CORNELIUS.  109 

"  hand  of  the  bishop,  '  Uow  then  coxdd  he possihly  have  re- 
'•'' ceived  the  Holy  Qfiostf  All  this  is  so  wholly  charac- 
"teristic  of  the  outwardness  and  passionate  slavery  to  prej- 
"  udice  of  the  hierarchal  spirit  then  acquiring  strength  in 
«  the  Koman  church."     Nean.  i.  239. 

"  As  Cornelius  pretended  to  believe  that  Novatian 
"acted  under  the  impulse  of  an  ambitious  longing  after  the 
"  episcopal  dignity,  so  a  part  at  least  of  Novatian's  follow- 
'  ers  attributed  the  mildness  of  Cornelius  toward  others  to 
"  the  consciousness  of  similar  guilt  in  himself,  for  he,  as 
"  they  affirmed,  was  a  libellaticus.  Both  parties  sought,  as 
"  usual  in  such  cases  of  disj)ute,  to  secure  on  their  own  side 
"  the  verdict  of  the  great  metropolitan  churches  at  Alexan- 
"  dria,  Antioch  and  Carthage,  and  both  sent  delegates  to 
"those  communities."  The  testimony  of  Novatian  is  plain. 
"  The  forgiveness  of  sins  must  be  left  to  that  God  who 
"  alone  has  power  to  forgive  sins."     i.  139,  242-244. 

"  Sabellius,  of  Africa,  bishop  of  Barce,  maintained, '  that 
■there  was  no  distinct  personality  between  the  Father  and 
Son:  but  that  a  certain   energy,   or  portion  of  the  divine 
nature,  proceeding  from  the  supreme  parent,  united  in  the 
Son  of  God,  the  man   Jesus.     He  was  confuted  by  Dyo- 
nysius  of  Alexandria."  (Waddington,  78.)     He  taught  that 
God  the  Father  designated  the  "  formal  divine  essence," 
which  unfolded  in  a  triad,  "  The  Father  remains  the  same, 
but   evolves   himself    in    the  Son  and  Spirit."      He    said, 
"  As  in  the  sun  we  may  distinguish  its  x>roper  substance, 
its  round  shape  and  power  of  communicating  warmth,  and 
light,  so  we  distinguish  in   God  his  proper  self-subsisting 
essence,    the  illuminating  power   of  the    Logos^  and  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  diffusing  the  warmth  and  glow 
of  life  through  the  hearts  of  believers."     Sabellius  even 
used   the   words   rQia  ITpoawTra,    three    persons,    meaning 
personifications  of  the   one  divine  essence.     "  The  Logos 
first  hypostatized  in  Christ."     "  God  caused  the  power  of 
the  Logos  to  go  forth  from  him,  as  a  ray  from  the  sun,  and 
then  withdrew  it  again  to  himself."     (Nean.  v.  599.)     Sa- 
bellius applies  the  name,  Son  of  God,  the  personality  de- 
rived from  the  hypostatizing  of  the  Logos.     The  Logos  is 
in  itself  only    Logos.     With  its  humanization  it  first  be* 


110  CHURCH  HISTOkr. 

comes  the  Son  of  God."  With  Sabellians  it  came  to  be 
said:  I.  "Not  the  Logos^  but  the  man  into  whom  the  Logos 
entered  was  the  Son  of  God ;  or  II.  From  the  union,  both 
were  the  Son  of  God ;  or  III.  The  Logos^  so  far  as  it  was 
hypostatized,  was  styled  the  Son  of  God."  (i.  598.)  These 
idle  speculations  find  their  first  ultimate  completion  and 
authoritative  condemnation  in  the  heretical  bishop  of  An- 
tioch,  Paul  of  Samosata.  Sabellius,  the  African,  repeated 
what  Proxeas,  the  Greek,  had  first  taught,  that  the  Son 
and  Spirit  were  not  perso7is\  but  that  the  ma)i  Jesus,  was 
the  Son,  made  divine  by  a  union  with  the  divine  nature  of 
the  supreme  Parent,  by  some  energy  or  part  of  God  united 
to  him.  This  is  a  modified  form  of  Gnosticism,  which 
taught  that  Christ,  the  diviue  ^on,  or  divine  emanation 
united  with  the  man  Jesus,  but  withdrew  before  the  cru- 
cifixion. Sabellians  knew  of  no  separation,  hence  were 
called  Patripassions,  as  holding  that  God  the  Father  suf- 
fered. 

Th^ophilus  introrhices  the  word  Trinity.  Eusebius  says  : 
"Theophilus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  was  author  of  three  books 
on  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  in  which  he 
quotes  from  St.  John's  Revelation  ;"  and  that  he  was  "one 
of  the  many  judicious,  learned  and  good  men  who  made 
use  at  that  time  of  all  the  methods  possible  to  extermin- 
ate heretics."  He  also  published  catechetical  discourses. 
Euseb.  iv.  86. 

Milner  says  :  "  He  was  brought  up  a  Gentile,  educated 
"in  the  knowledge  then  reputable  in  the  world.  Theophi- 
*'lus  was  a  reasoner;  and  the  grace  of  God,  while  it  con- 
"vincedhimof  his  own  inability  to  clear  up  his  doubts, 
"effectually  enlightened  his  understanding.  The  belief  of 
"  a  resurrection  appears  to  have  been  a  mighty  impedi- 
"  ment  to  his  reception  of  the  Gospels.  It  contradicted 
"his  philosophy.  The  notions  of  proud  philosophers  vary 
"in  different  ages;  but  they  seldom  fail  in  some  form  or 
"other  to  withstand  the  religion  of  Jesus." 

"  Of  his  labors  in  his  bishopric  of  Antioch  we  have  no 
"account.  He  carried  on  a  correspondence  with  a  learned 
"man  named  Autolycus  ;  but  with  what  success  we  are  not 


NAMES.  OPINIONS.  DOCTRINES.  HERESIES.  Ill 

"told.  He  appears  to  have  been  very  vigilant  against 
"fashionable  heresies.  He  lived  thirteen  years  in  his  bish- 
"  opric ;  and  died  in  peace  abont  the  second  or  third  year 
"  of  Comniodiis."     Milner  ii.  130. 

Gibbon.  "Theophilus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  was  the  7^>,9^ 
"who  employed  the  word  Triad,  trinity;  that  abstract 
"  term  which  was  already  familiar  to  the  schools  of  plii- 
"losophy,  must  have  been  introduced  into  the  theology  of 
"  the  Christians  after  the  middle  of  the  second  century." 
Dec.  and  Fall,  ii.  239. 

NAMES.  OPINIONS.  DOCTRINES.  HERESIES. 

Hazarenes.  The  original  stock  of  Jewish  Christians  at 
the  destruction  of  the  Jewish  nation,  did  not  escape  the 
opprobrium  which  attached  itself  to  all  the  children  of 
Abraham  ;  especially  as  "  they  were  all  zealous  of  the 
law."  Acts  21 :  26.  On  this  account,  and  on  account  of 
their  poverty,  for  they  were  involved  in  the  common  mis- 
fortune of  their  country,  the  common  name  of  Nazarenes, 
first  given  from  without  to  all  tlie  followers  of  the  cruci- 
fied One,  gave  place  to  that  of  Ebionites;  and  as  the  Gen- 
tile Church  arose  in  opulence  and  splendor,  its  converts 
from  the  philosophies  of  Greece  and  the  idolatries  of  Pa- 
ganist,  began  to  assume  superior  knowledge,  and  despise 
the  humble  mother  church,  which  continued  in  the  path 
of  the  apostles.  This  is  seen  in  the  nineteenth  century. 
What  Gentile  teacher  now  after  eighteen  hundred  years, 
but  despises  the  character  of  the  first  Christians.  Acts  21 : 
20.  Will  a  Protestant  divine  give  up  his  human  for  a  di- 
vine creed?  his  Wesley  for  Moses,  or  his  Westminister  for 
Sinai?  Nay  verily !  Moses  is  a  reproach  and  the  modern 
sect  builder  is  a  glory.  They  can  not  approve  of  Acts 
15  :  21,  though  it  emanated  from  the  only  inspired  council. 
I  must  confess  that  the  Jews  judged  the  Gentile  converts 
by  the  same  measure.  Even  Paul,  the  Apostle,  is  in  some 
places  termed  «  a  proselyte  of  heathenish  descent."  (Nean. 
i.  346.)  But  the  Jewish  Church  could  not  bear  up  amid 
the  rising  glory  of  the  Gentiles  ;  who  met  every  thing  per- 


112  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

• 

taining  to  Judaism  with  scorn  and  hatred  ;  and  the  Jewish 
Christians  began  to  be  called  Ebionites.  Then  they  were 
charged  with  being  the  followers  of  "7p]2N  Ehion,  though 
it  is  admitted  that  no  such  person  ever  existed.  (345.) 
Next  because  some  among  them  denied  the  miraculous 
conception,  they  were  charged  with  denying  the  divinity 
of  Christ.  Neander,  i.  350,  shows  that  their  gospel  har- 
monized with  ours  (second  of  Matthew)  concerning  the 
divine  birth.  Christ  is  the  first-born  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  they  called  the  Holy  Spirit  his  Mother,  to  whom  as  it 
descended  upon  him  at  his  baptism,  the  following  words  are 
ascribed  :  "  My  Son,  in  all  the  prophets  I  expected  thee,  that 
thou  shouldst  come,  and  I  might  find  in  thee  a  place  of  rest; 
for  thou  art  my  resting  place ;  for  thou  art  my  first-born 
Son,  who  reigneth  forever."  (350.)  We  have  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  there  was  no  sect  of  Christians  who  denied  the 
divinity  of  Christ;  but  only  isolated  individuals.  Antago- 
nistical  to  these  arose  the  Gnostic  theory  of  a  double  Christ ; 
a  man  from  whom  the  divine  Christ  could  fly  away ;  leaving 
only  a  man  on  the  cross,  to  cry,  "  My  God,  why  hast  thou  for- 
saken me."  These  believed  that  the  suffering  Christ  was  sim- 
ply a  man  ;  some  of  them  less  than  a  man  ;  a  phantasy  :  and 
though  they  appeared  at  first  to  glorify  the  divinity,  they 
soon  confounded  it  with  God;  so  as  to  lose  the  Christ  alto 
gether  in  their  i^hilosophy.  Still,  these  were  speculations  of 
teachers  who  haply  found  few  disciples  able  or  willing  to 
follow  them.  Iren^eus,  perhaps  jus'Jy,  thinks  St.  John  had 
these  in  view  .  See  this  history,  p.  40.  Some  of  the  Gen- 
tile Neo-Platonic  teachers  despising  the  lai'j^  began  to  call 
the  Jerusalem  Church  "-Judaizing  Christians,''  lavl  de- 
nounce the  Sabbath,  creating  as  many  new  and  fanciful 
Christians,  of  this  substance  and  of  that,  as  there  can  be 
shades  of  meaning  attached  to  the  forms  of  expression 
used  by  the  apostles.  And,  indeed,  so  metaphysically 
sublime  did  these  Gentile  pjiilosophic  theologians  become, 
that  it  required  the  Savior's  divine  knowledge  to  know  it 
in  the  dualistic  character  whom  they  called  Christ  there 
was  the  least  allusion  to  the  blessed  one  who  suffered  on 


NAMES.   OPINIONS.   DOCTRINES.    HERESIES.  113 

Calvar3^  Yet  even  these  were  Christians,  Christians  who 
laid  down  their  necks  for  the  blessed  Savior.  And  mod- 
ern writers  have  violated  the  spirit  of  charity  in  denounc- 
ing them  as  heretics.  Their  Gnosticism,  Manicheism, 
Montanism,  Ebionitism.  were  as  but  shades  of  thought 
existing  often  in  the  minds  of  certain  prominent  teachers, 
remolded  by  critics  without  the  plastic  pen  of  charity  • 
tortured  to  make  a  contrast ;  till  every  novel  feature  was 
contorted  and  caricatured  in  a  mortal  agony  of  dispropor- 
tion, till  we  are  almost  ready  to  believe  that  Valentine 
and  Mareion  and  Mani  were  myths  instead  of  men.  But 
the  Oriental  triumphed  over  the  Hebrew^;  the  Egyptian  in 
reaction  over  the  Oriental;  the  Greek  over  the  Egyptian; 
the  Latin  over  the  Greek.  But  as  the  prominent  scholars 
of  the  Latin  Church  were  Africans :  the  Tertullians,  Cypri- 
ans and  Augustines,  finally  the  triumph  of  the  crude  Afri- 
can mode  of  apprehending  Christianity  gained  the  ascend- 
ency in  subsequent  ages  and  molded  the  faith  of  the  Ro- 
man Church. 

Gregory  Thaumaturgus — born  in  Cappadocia — educated 
in  Pagan  idolatry,  learned  in  Platonic  philosophy,  with  his 
brother  and  several  other  gentlemen  attending  the  lec- 
tures of  the  renowned  Origen,  was  converted  to  the  Chris- 
tian religion;  and  Gregory  on  returning  to  Neocsesarea, 
his  native  city,  a  place  wholly  given  up  to  sin,  was  enabled 
to  plant  there  a  Christian  church.  A  subsequent  age  has 
attributed  to  him  a  creed,  which  he  is  said  to  have  received 
in  a  vision  from  John  and  the  Virgin  Mary,  the  forgery  is 
evidently  the  product  of  a  later  age. 

Jortin.  "Gregor}^  Nyssen  says  the  Apostle  John,  at  the 
request  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  presented  Thaumaturgus  with 
a  creed.  The  story  seems  to  have  been  borrowed  from  the 
transactions  between  Nil  ma  and  the  goddess  Eyeria^  and 
both  are  equally  credible.  This  symbol  dropped  from  the 
clouds,  which  must  needs  be  a  great  curiosity,  is  still  ex- 
tant to  our  great  benefit ;  and  may  be  seen,  though  it  can 
not  be  warranted  free  from  interpolations."  i.  386. 
8 


114  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

The  Wonderful  Creed  tJiat  Dropped  from  Heaven. 

"There  is  one  God.  The  Father  of  the  living  "Word, 
"of  the  subsisting  wisdom  and  power,  and  of  Him,  who  is 
"his  eternal  express  Image:  The  perfect  Father  of  Him. 
"that  is  perfect:  The  Father  of  the  only- bogotton  Son. 
"There  is  One  Lord,  the  only  Son  of  the  only  Father;  God 
"of  God;  the  Character  and  Image  of  the  Godhead;  the 
"  energetic  Word ;  the  compreliensive  Wisdom  by  which  all 
"things  were  made;  and  the  Power  that  gave  Being  to  all 
"creation:  The  true  Son  of  the  true  Father:  The  Invisi- 
"  ble  of  the  Invisible  :  The  Incorruptible  of  the  Incorrnpt- 
"  ible  :  The  Immortal  of  the  Immortal :  The  Eternal  of 
"  the  Eternal. 

"  There  is  one  Holy  Ghost,  having  his  subsistence  of 
"  God  ;  who  was  manifested  throngh  the  Son  to  men  :  The 
"  perfect  Image  of  the  perfect  Son  :  The  Life  and  the  Source 
"of  Life:  The  Holy  Fountain:  Sanctity,  and  the  Author 
"  of  Sanctification;  by  whom  is  made  manifest  God  the  Fa- 
"  ther,  who  is  above  all  and  in  all,  and  God  the  Son,  who  is 
"throngh  all.  A  perfect  Trinity,  which,  neither  in  Glory, 
"Eternity,  or  Dominion  is  separated  or  divided."  Mil.  i.  237. 

ISfeander.  "Although  the  first  part  of  this  confession 
"  maij  he  genuine,  yet  the  second  part  is,  manifestly,  a  later 
"addition."  i.  720. 

Jortin.  "If  Christians  of  the  fourth  and  following cen- 
"turies  were  satisfied  with  the  truth  of  this  narration,  they 
"should  have  certainly  drawn  up  no  new  creeds,  but  have 
^'  rested  contented  with  the  truly  apostolical  symbol  and 
"not  have  had  the  vanity  to  think  that  they  could  compose 
"  a  better  than  St.  John."     i.  886. 

Gnosticism,  or  Gnostics — knowing.  Some  suppose  that 
this  sect  existed  previous  to  Christianity,  and  tliat  they 
merely  adopted  such  parts  of  the  Christian  religion  as 
suited  them,  and  engrafted  it  into  their  system.  That 
knowledge  existed  previous  to  Christianity,  is  true.  That 
Christianity  w^as  added  to  this  knowledge,  is  also  true; 
and  that  many  of  the  converts,  Jewish,  Oriental,  Gre- 
cian, and  Barbarian,  retained  many  of  their  old  opin- 
ions, is  also  true.  Farther  than  this  is  not  true.  Their 
name  denoted  knowledge;  they  professed  to  have  the  true 
knowledge  of  Christianity,  and  regarded  other  Christians 


NAMES.    OPINIONS.    DOCTRINES.    HBHESIES.  115 

as  simple,  ignorant,  and  barbarous.  They  have  been  re- 
garded by  some  as  the  only  philosophers  of  the  times. 
Certainly  they  are  very  ignorant  who  suppose  that  the 
apostles  wrote  against  the  Gnostics,  when  they  spoke  of  a 
false  Gnosis.  By  Primitive  Father,  they  meant  the  origin- 
al source  of  all  being,  the  underived  and  infinite  Jehovah, 
^ons  were  eternal  beings,  the  gods ;  children,  or  oifspring 
of  the  primitive ;  not  by  creation,  but  by  "  emanation ;'' 
an  evolution  of  numbers  out  of  the  original  unity;  an  era- 
diation of  light  from  an  original  light;  or,  as  expressed  in 
the  Nicene  Creed — God  of  God — light  of  light.  Pleroma 
signified  the  whole  emanation  world,  as  distinguished  from 
the  temporal  world — that  is  the  spiritual,  heavenly  world. 
Creation,  matter,  they  consider  necessarily  evil,  and  op- 
posed to  spirit.  It  always  existed,  yet  was  inert  and  dead, 
possessing  no  active  power  until  acted  upon  by  Spirit.  The 
divine  emanations  of  aeons  become  feebler  the  farther  re- 
moved from  the  original  parent.  Hence  the  extremity  of 
the  series  is  imperfect,  and  it  sinks  from  the  pleroma — 
spiritual  world,  into  the  chaos,  or  bordering  void  ;  kindles 
with  its  own  native  fire  life  in  the  inert  matter,  and  is  itself 
corrupted  with  the  connection,  and  a  new  world  starts  into 
being  beyond  the  pleroma.  This  answers  to  our  world  of 
evil  spirits,  Satan,  etc.  From  this  time  two  kingdoms  ex- 
isted ;  or  the  kingdom  of  light,  and  the  kingdom  of  dark- 
ness— i.  6.,  heaven. and  hell,  or  gods  and  devils.  As  to  the 
Creator  of  the  world,  they  difiered  in  this  idea.  Some 
supposed  that  a  revolted  aeon  formed  it  for  a  separate 
kingdom ;  but  others  and  perhaps  originally  the  majority, 
supposed  that  God,  the  Supreme,  appointed  one  of  the 
aeons,  called  demiurge,  to  create  it  as  his  representative. 
They  supposed  that  the  great  mass  of  the  Jews  never  rose 
above  the  knowledge  of  the  demiurge  to  that  of  the  in- 
visible Supreme.  They  said :  "  As  far  as  the  supreme 
aeon,  who  appeared  in  Christ,  is  exalted  above  the  angels 
and  the  demiurge,  so  far  does  Christianity  transcend  Juda- 
ism, and  the  whole  earthly  creation."     In  Christ,  the  Su- 


IIG  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

preme  God,  through  his  highest  aeon,  let  himself  down  at 
once  to  this  inferior  system,  to  draw  upward  to  himself  those 
higher  and  kindred  spiritual  natures  which  are  here  held 
in  bondage,  Christ  was  the  supreme  aeon — the  first  ema- 
nc^tion  from  the  primitive  Father,  who  united  himself  with 
the  man  Jesus,  at  his  birth,  or  baptism,  and  left  him  at  the 
crucifixion — Jesus  the  very  man,  or  the  man  in  appearance, 
only  suffering.  Man  consisted  of  matter  necessarily  evil, 
and  of  a  spirit  which  was  an  emanation,  or  at  least  the 
off"spring  of  God,  through  some  remote  link  in  the  chain  of 
emanation  from  the  original  parent — the  primitive  Father. 
Thus  they  made  the  soul  a  part  of  God,  which  longed  to 
be  relieved  from  this  material  body,  and  rise  again  to  its 
native  pleroma — so  that  they  not  only  held  to  two  Christs, 
a  divine  and  a  human — or,  two  intellectual  and  personal 
natures,  making  not  one  but  two  Christs,  God  and  man, 
but  they  also  thus  distinguished,  though  not  in  so  clear  a 
manner,  between  the  spirit  and  body  in  man. 

In  the  better  class  of  those  called  Gnostics  was  the 
great  and  good  Marcion,  the  son  of  the  bishop  of  Sinote. 
He  was  born  at  Sinope  in  the  early  part  of  the  second 
century.     He  speaks  of  the  "  ardor  of  his  faith." 

"He  felt  constrained  by  the  ardor  of  his  first  Chris- 
"  tian  love  to  renounce  every  earthly  possession.  He  pre- 
"sented  to  the  church  a  considerable  sum  of  money.  The 
"consciousness  formed  the  ground  tone  of  his  religious 
"life;  the  fact  of  redemption  he  regarded  as  the  central 
«  point  of  Christianity."     (462.) 

Marriage  and  flesh  eating.    Euseb.  iv.  87.    Neander  says 

"The  Alexandrian  Theology  recognized  by  the  great 
"  body  of  the  church,  contains  more  that  is  in  affinity  with 
"  Gnosticism  than  the  theology  of  Marcion"  did.  (i.  459.) 
"  His  whole  being  is  thoroughly  penetrated  with  Chris- 
"  tianity ;  the  Christian  element  properly  constitutes  the 
«  ground  tone  of  his  whole  inner  life."  "  His  God  he  had 
"  first  found  in  Christ,  and  that  glory  of  God  which  was  re- 
"  vealed  to  him  in  Christ,  he  could  not  find  again  in  nature 
"  or  in  history."  "  The  design  he  started  with  was  simply 
"to  restore  Christianity  to  its  purity."     "He  would  admit 


NAMES,    OPINIONS,    DOCTRINKS.    HERESIES.  117 

"  that  nothing  but  the  words  of  Christ  and  of  his  genuine 
"disciples  ought  to  be  considered  as  the  fountain  head  of 
"  the  true  gospel."     "  His  efforts  in  looking  up  the  earliest 
"records   of  ihe  pure,  original  Christianity,  led  him  into 
"  historical  and  critical  investigation."    (459,  460.)     "  Mar- 
"  cion  was  convinced  that  his  doctrine  was  no  other  than 
"the  primitive  Christianity  which  should  come  to  all  men." 
"To  be  hated  and  suffer,  he  counted  the   destination  of 
"every  Christian."      "'Fellow-hated  and  fellow-sufferers' 
"was  his  common  form  of  salutation  to  his  brethren  in  the 
"faith."    Marcion  expressly  distinguished  Jesus  as  the  Son 
sent  down  from  the  heaven  of  the  Supreme  God  the  Father. 
His  Gospel  began.     It  is  said  that  he  regarded  the  God  of 
the  Old  Testament  as  differing  from  the  Supreme  God  ;  and 
the  Christ  of  the  Gospels  as   differing  from  the  Christ  of 
the  prophets  ;  but   here   too,  he  was  probably  misunder- 
stood, or  badly  reported.     Neander  •says  :  "  Here  too  it  is 
"  evident  how  deeply  Christ's  image  had  imprinted  itself 
"  upon  his  warm  heart."    (469.)     "It  must  leave  us  with  a 
"sad  impression  of  human  weakness,  to  see  how,  hy  his 
"  own   misunderstanding  of  himself,  he  could  lead  others 
"who  ought  to  have  been  bound  to  him  by  the  fellowship 
"of  the  same  higher  life,  to  misunderstand,  to  be  deceived 
"  and  condemn  him,  and  those  the  very  persons  too,  who 
"came  nearest  to  him  in  what  constituted  the  foundation 
"of  mental  and  spiritual  character."    (459.) 

He  was  residing  at  Rome  when  Polycarp  visited  there, 
and  remembering  his  youthful  friendship,  said  to  him  : 
"Dost  thou  remember  me,  Polycarp?"  But  Polycarp 
(whose  mind  had  been  abused),  '^  at  other  times  so  amiable, 
is  said"  (perhaps  untruly)  "to  have  replied,  'Yes  I  re- 
member the  first-born  of  Satan.'"  (465.)  It  is  probable 
a  monk  first  said  this  in  after  ages.  Tertullian  says  that 
Marcion  desired  to  be  reconciled  to  the  church,  perhaps 
more  truly,  the  church  opposition  to  be  reconciled  to  him. 
As  far  as  appears,  he  had  the  love  and  fellowship  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  church ;  and  the  errors  recorded,  ex- 
cept as  magnified,  are  no  greater  than  those  of  his  ene- 
mies. No  friendly  tongue  has  reported  his  words,  no 
friendly  pen  has  written  his  history. 

Tatian  of  Assyria,  who  lived  at  Home  in  the  second  cen 


118  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

tury,  wrote  an  Evangelion  Dia  Tessaron*  a  compendi 
ous  harmony  of  the  four  Gospels.  Clement  of  Alexandria 
says  he  belonged  to  the  anti-Jewish  Gnostics ;  who  be- 
lieved that  there  was  a  God  superior  to  the  God  revealed  in 
the  Old  Testament.  He  held  the  renunciation  of  all  worldly 
possessions  and  a  life  of  celibacy  after  the  pattern  of  Christ. 
Clement  of  Alexandria  replied,  that  Christ  as  distinguish- 
ed from  all  other  men,  nothing  could  issue  from  him  as  the 
Son  of  God,  but  a  spiritual  posterity ;  but  Tatian  insisted 
that  marriage  was  unchastity.  Tatian's  doctrine  of  aeons 
was  probably  only  an  enlarged  views  of  the  angelic  world! 
He  thought  true  perfection  only  attainable  by  perfect  im- 
itation of  Christ,  and  published  a  work  on  this. 

I  will  confine  my  remarks  principally  to  one  class  of 
Gnostics,  viz  : 

The  Manichean  Heresy.     A.  D.  265. 

1151.  Some  Manicheans  were  discovered  and  put  to 
death.     Henry,  xii.  600.     Jor.  iii.  125. 

1167.  "  Some  Manicheans,  as  they  were  called,  were 
burnt  in  Burgundy."     Jor.  iii.  236. 

1181.  "  The  Pope's  Legate  marched  a  great  army  against 
the  Albigenses,  whom  he  called  Manicheans."  Jor.  iii.  213. 

11 85.  "  Several  heretics,  called  Manicheans,  were  burned 
in  Flanders."     Jor.  iii.  243. 

"When  the  Manicheans  began  first  to  make  progress 
"  in  the  Roman  Empire,  a  violent  persecution  broke  out 

"against  them They  were  an  object  of  peculiar 

"  hatred  to  the  Roman  government.  A.  D.  296,  Diocletian 
"  issued  a  law  condemning  its  leaders  to  the  stake,  and 
<'  punishing  its  adherents  with  decapitation  and  confisca- 
4'  tion."     Nean.  i.  500. 

Such  sentences  constantly  recurring  in  history  compel 
me  to  give  some  notice  to  the  religion  whose  adherents 
were  thus  forever  being  slain. 

Mani,  when  a  boy,  was  captured  and  sold  as  a  slave  to 
Cubricus,  a  Persian  lady.     Being  studious,  he  acquired  the 

'"■Theodoretus  found  over  two  hundred  copies  in  his  Syrian  diocese. 


NAMES.    OPINIONS.    DOCTRINES.    HERESIES.  119 

respect  of  his  mistress,  and  a  good  education  in  the  relig- 
ion of  that  country.  His  mistress  dying,  left  him  her  for- 
tune, and  his  fame  caused  him  to  be  called  to  the  Persian 
court,  where  he  was  intrusted  with  the  education  of  the 
prince.  The  prince  dying  he  was  thrown  into  prison.  By 
reading  the  Scriptures,  he  conceived  the  spirit  of  a  reform- 
er, escaped  from  prison,  and  traveled  and  visited  Egypt 
and  Greece,  and  was  ordained  a  presbyter;  perhaps  a 
bishop.  Led  away  by  enthusiasm,  he  professed  that  he 
was,  or  perhaps  only  that  he  had  the  Comforter  promised 
by  the  Savior.  Full  of  zeal,  he  held  two  discussions  with 
Archilaus,  bishop  of  Kaskar,  in  JVIesopotamia,  and  gained, 
if  not  a  victory,  the  ill-will  of  the  bishop,  and  returned  to 
Persia. 

Neander  says:  "To  an  ardent,  profound  mind,  and 
"  lively  imagination,  he  united  various  knowledge,  andprac- 
"  tical  skill  in  the  arts,  of  which  he  availed  himself  for  the 
"  purpose  of  diffusing  his  doctrines.  As  a  mathematician 
"and  astronomer,  he  is  said  to  have  been  distinguished 
"  among  his  countrymen  ;  the  fame  of  his  talents  as  a  paint- 
"er  lasted  for  a  long  time  in  Persia.  In  the  outset,  he  suc- 
"  ceeded  in  conciliating  tlie  favor  of  that  j)rince  ;  but  when 
"his  doctrines  came  to  be  known,  he  was  obliged  to  seek 
"safety  from  persecution  by  flight.  He  novv  made  distant 
"journeys  to  India,  and  even  to  China;  and  tarried  for  a 
"considerable  time  in  the  province  of  Turkistan.  From 
"  one  of  the  grottos  consecrated  to  Buddhism,  he  issued 
"forth,  with  those  symbolic  pictures  which  were  designed 
"  to  rei^resent,  for  immediate  intuition,  the  doctrines  made 
"known  to  him,  as  he  ijretended,  in  his  retirement,  by  di- 
"vine  revelation.  These  emblems  were  long  jireserved 
"in  lively  remembrance  among  the  Persians,  under  the 
"  name  of  Ertenki-Mani.  After  the  death  of  Sapor,  in  272, 
"  Mani  returned  to  Persia,  where  he  was  well  received,  to- 
"gether  with  his  pictures,  by  Hormuz  (Hormisdas),  Sapor's 
"  successor.  The  later  assigned  to  him,  as  a  safe  j^lace  of 
"  residence,  the  castle  of  Deskereh  at  Chusistan  in  Susiana. 
"  But  this  prince,  after  a  reign  of  less  than  two  complete 
"years,  was  succeeded  by  Behram  (  v^aranes).  He  also  ap 
"peared  favorably  disposed  toward  JVlani;  but  perhaps  only 
"in  semblance,  and  with  a  view  to  lull  him  and  his  follow- 
"  ers  into  security.     He  caused  a  disputation  to  be  held  be- 


120  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"twixt  Mani  and  the  Magians,  of  which  the  result  was,  that 
"Mani  was  pronounced  a  heretic.  Refusing  to  recant,  he 
"was  flayed  alive,  and  his  skin  stufied  and  hung  before  the 
"  gates  of  the  city  Djondishapur  in  277,  to  terrify  his  follow- 
"ers.  Over  the  kingdom  of  light,  ruled  God  the  Father, 
"eternal  in  his  sacred  race,  glorious  in  his  might,  the  truth 
"by  his  very  essence,  ever  blessed  in  his  own  eternal  being, 
"who  bears  within  him  wisdom  and  the  consciousness  of 
"his  life,  with  which  he  embraces  the  twelve  members  of 
"his  light,  that  is,  the  transcendent  riches  of  his  own  king- 
"  dom.  In  each  of  his  members  are  hid  countless,  immeas- 
"  urable  riches.  But  the  Father  himself,  glorious  in  his  maj- 
"  esty,  incomprehensible  in  his  greatness,  has  united  with 
"  himself  blessed  and  glorious  jeons,  in  numbers  and  great- 
"ness  surpassing  estimation,  with  whom  this  holy  and  most 
"  glorious  Father  lives,  for  in  his  exalted  kingdom,  no  needy 
"  or  feeble  being  dwells.  But  his  resplendent  realms  are 
"so  deeply  grounded  in  the  blessed  earth  of  light,  that  no 
"  power  exists  by  which  they  could  ever  be  destroyed  or 
"shaken."  The  powers  of  darkness  were  engaged  in  wild 
"  conflict,  till  in  their  blind  struggle  they  approach  so  near 
"the  realms  of  light,  that  a  ray  penetrated  to  them.  When 
"they  forgot  their  mutual  strifes,  and  attracted  by  the  light, 
"  combined  to  penetrate  into  the  kingdom  of  light,  with  a 
"view  to  appropriate  this  light,  "then  the  Father  of  light 
"  beholds  a  vast  desolation  rising  from  darkness,  and  threat- 
"ening  his  holy  aeons.  He  opposed  to  it  divine  power,  to 
"conquer  and  destroy  the  race  of  darkness,  so  that,  after  its 
"  destruction,  the  inhabitants  of  light  might  enjoy  tranquil- 
"lity."  "That  the  evil  principle  is  in  conflict  with  itself, 
"and  becomes  one  only  in  struggling  against  the  good ; 
"  such  is  the  attractive  power  which  the  good  exerts  on 
"evil  itself;  an  idea,  it  must  be  allowed,  in  direct  contra- 
"  diction  with  the  dualistic  theory  of  an  absolute  evil." 

"  Mani  aimed  at  a  strict  system  of  morals.''  Of  his 
views  of  Christ  we  know  little  but  what  comes  from  his  en- 
emies, who  say  that  "  the  sun  was  in  fact  his  Christ,"  mean- 
ing only  perhaps  that  the  sun  was  the  material  emblem 
of  Christ  the  light  of  the  world,  or  that  Christ  is  the  Spirit 
of  that  luminary.  Much  that  he  said,  and  that  Paul  would 
have  said  in  speaking  to  the  Persians,  designed  to  be  un- 
derstood emblematically,  has  been  applied  literally  \>j 
those  who  did  not  understand  him ;  and  many  things 


>      NAMES.    OPINIONS.    DOCTRINES.   HERESIES.  121 

by  Faustiis  and  others  of  his  disciples,  have  been  charged 
upon  him.     Neander  well  says : 

"  In  Manicheism,  we  find  the  aim  to  be  perfection,  the 
"  utmost  possible  estrangement  from  all  that  pertains  to 
"•  the  world  ;  in  Parsism,  jjlastic  influence  in  the  worid.  *  * 
"In  the  account  Cyril  all  taken  from  the  Acts  of  disputa- 
"  tion  of  Mani  with  Archelaus  there  is  some  truth  lying  at 
"  bottom — as  we  must  allow  there  is  much  in  the  represen- 
"  tation  of  the  doctrines  which  wears  the  ax)pearance  of 
"truth,  and  is  confirmed  also  by  its  agreement  with  other 
"  representations, — yet  the  Greek  author  seems,  from  ig- 
"norance  of  eastern  languages  and  customs,  to  have  intro- 
"  duced  a  great  deal  that  is  untrue,  by  bringing  in  and  con- 
"founding  together  discordant  stories,  to  the  neglect  of 
"  all  criticism,  and  with  an  unsparing  indulgence  of  exag- 
"  geration.  How  difficult  it  was  for  a  Greek  to  transport 
"himself  out  of  his  own  v/orld,  and  to  form  any  just  con- 
"ception  of  national  peculiarities  wholly  foreign  to  his 
"  own,  is  what  every  one  knows."     Nean.  i.  485,  490. 

Manicheans  held  to  the  antagonism  of  flesh  and  spirit. 
They  were  divided  into  two  classes,  viz:  The  Auditors 
who  were  to  hear  the  doctrine  in  its  symbolical  form,  but 
not  explain  it.  Of  these  Augustine  was  one.  These  were 
but  candidates  for  the  full  light,  and  were  not  separate 
from  the  world.  Another  class  was  the  Elect.  These  were 
baptized,  ceased  all  sexual  intercourse,  and  aimed  after 
spiritual  illumination  and  moral  perfection.  They  kept 
Sunday,  celebrated  the  Supper,  and  Easter,  received  the 
New  Testament,  subject  to  liberal  or  illiberal  criticism. 
They  abstained  from  animal  food,  from  the  accumulation 
of  goods,  from  luxury,  war,  killed  nothing  except  vermin, 
harmed  no  one,  and  devoted  their  lives  to  pious  contem- 
plation ;  by  labor  supporting  themselves  and  the  Elect, 
who  were  probably  occupied  in  teaching.  Each  church 
was  independent;  their  government  was  democratic  ;  they 
desired  no  temples,  and  tolerated  no  images.  They  called 
themselves  Christians. 

8yjnbolical  TeacJdng  of  tlie  Manicheans. 

"The  Son  of  prune val  light,  the  Spirit  of  the  Sun,  wi»-» 


122  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

"incapable  of  entering  into  any  union  with  a  material 
'body;  he  only  clothed  himself  in  a  shadowy,  sensible 
'form,  in  order  that  he  might  be  perceived  by  sensual 
'men."  "The  Supreme  Light,"  in  another  fragment, 
'when  it  placed  itself  on  a  level  with  its  own,  being 
'  among  material  things,  assigned  to  itself  a  body,  al- 
'  though  it  is  all  of  it  but  one  nature."  "  I  am  the  light 
'  of  the  world,"  said  Christ. 

"  The  adversary,  who  was  hoping  to  crucify  the  Savior, 
'  the  Father  of  the  righteous,  was  crucified  himself.    AVhat 
'  seemed  to  be  done  in  this  case  is  one  thing ;  what  was 
'  really   done,    another. "     Christ,   on    a  certain  occasion, 
'passed  on  untouched  through  the  multitude.     Christ,  at 
'  his  transfiguration,  appeared  to  the  disciples  in  his  true 
'  form  of  light.   Jesus  assumed  the  title  of  Christ  in  accom- 
'  modation  to  the  notions  of  the  Jews.    The  prince  of  dark- 
'  ness  was  not  aware  that  Christ  was  superior  to  all  sufier- 
'  ing.     "During  the  agony  on  the  cross,  Christ  appears  to 
'  the  afflicted  John,  and  tells  him  that  all  this  is  done  for 
'  the  sake  of  the  lower  populace  in  Jerusalem.    The  human 
'person  of  Christ  now  vanishes,  and  instead  of  it  appears  a 
'  cross  of  pure  light,  surrounded  by  a  countless  multitude 
'of  other  forms,  still  representing,  however,  but  one  shape 
'  and  one  image.     A  divine  voice,  full  of  sweetness,  issues 
'from  the  cross  saying:  "The  cross  of  light  is,  for  your 
'  sake,    called   sometimes    the   Word,    sometimes   Christ; 
■  sometimes  the  Door,  sometimes  the  Way ;  sometimes  the 
'Bread,  sometimes  the  Sun;  sometimes  the  Resurrection, 
'someiimes  Jesus;  sometimes  the  Father,  sometimes  the 
Spirt;  sometimes  the  Life,  sometimes  the  Truth;    some- 
times Faith."     He  says  the  law  is  holy,  "but  it  is  a  holy 
law  for  the    holy  soul;  the  commandment  is  just    and 
good, — but  it  is  so  for  the  just  and  good  soul.'''     "If  we 
do  good,  it  is  not  a  work  of  the  flesh,  for  the   works  of 
the  flesh  are  manifest,  Gal.  5  :  19 ;  or  if  we  do  evil,  it  is 
not  the  work  of  the  soul,  forthe  fruit  of  the  spirit  is  peace, 
joy.     And  the  apostle  to   the   Eomans   exclaims,    'The 
good  that  I  would,  that  do  I  not.'"* 
From    the    third   to    the    twelfth    century,    and    after 
they   were   uniformly   put   to    death   whenever  found,  or, 
whenever    the  attention  of  the  authorities  was  called  to 
them.     They   probably   finally  melted  away  in  the  sects 
succeeding  the  dark  ages,  and  are  most  nearly  repre.sent 

<"Bauer,  Augustine  De  Hares,  c.  32.    Neander,  i.  497,  509. 


NAMES.    OPINIONS.   DOCTRINES.   HERESIES.  123 

ed   now  by   Quakers,    Swedenborgians,  Spiritualists,  and 

others. 

Jortin.  "Manichaeus  was  a  Chaldean,  born  A.  D.  240; 
a  learned  and  ingenious  man,  and  a  good  astronomer  and 
geographer.  He  taught  that  the  earth  was  spherical,  and 
this  was  one  of  his  heresies.  He  was,  in  his  youth,  or- 
dained a  presbyter  in  the  Christian  Church." 

Other  Gnostics  so  much  resemble  these,  and  so  little 
is  known  of  their  true  doctrine,  that  the  above  must  rep- 
resent all. 

Jortin.  "Many  of  the  Marcionites  suiFered  martyr- 
dom at  different  times.  Why  were  these  men  put  to  death  ? 
(Rather  why  did  they  suffer  as  martyrs?)  Because  they 
were  heretics  ?  No !  but  because  they  acknowledged 
Jesus  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  and  would  not  renounce  him 
and  sacrifice  to  idols."  (Jor.  i.  433.)  The  Marcionites  and 
other  Gnostics  held  views  of  the  Savior  very  nearly  re- 
sembling the  popular  theology  of  the  present  day. 

Montanism.     A.  B.  170. 

"  Montanus  began  to  prophesy  in  Phrygia  and  other 
"  provinces  of  Asia  Minor — he  professed  to  be  the  Para- 
"  clete  or  Comforter,  the  same  who  had  descended  upon 
•'  the  apostles,  and  whose  return  on  earth  before  the  sec- 
*'  ond  coming  of  Christ,  for  the  purpose  of  completing 
"the  divine  revelation,  was  expected  by  many  of  the  faith- 
"  ful ;  and  his  trances,  and  ecstatic  raptures,  and  fanatic 
"ravings,  were  probably  regarded  by  the  credulous  and 
"  wondering  multitude  as  the  surest  signs  of  divine  inspi- 
"  ration.  Certainly  there  were  many  in  those  regions  who 
"followed  him;  and  his  success  was  promoted  by  his  asso- 
"  ciation  with  two  prophetesses,  named  Maximilla  and 
"  Priscilla,  who  confirmed  his  mission,  and  shared  Ids  spirit. 
"Another  cause  of  the  temporary  fame  of  Montanism  was 
"  the  severity  of  the  morality  inculcated  by  it ;  the  strict- 
"est  celibacy  and  the  most  rigid  fasts  were  exacted  from 
"  the  proselytes,  and  this  circumstance  threw  an  appear- 
"ance  of  sanctity  round  the  sect,  which  seems  to  have 
"  deadened  the  penetration  of  Tertullian,  for  he  presently 
"professed  himself  its  advocate.      To    that   circumstanco 


124  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"  perhaps  this  heresy  may  be  indebted  for  most  of  its  ce- 
"  lebrity ;  for  it  was  condemned  by  certain  Asiatic  coun- 
"  cils  at  the  time  of  its  eruption  and  it  appears  to  have 
"  made  very  little  progress  after  the  second  century,  and 
"  at  no  time  to  have  found  general  reception  beyond  the 
"precincts  of  its  birthplace,  though  some  remains  of  it 
"subsisted  there  for  two  or  three  ages."     Wad.  78. 

Many  of  these  so  called  heresies  were  the  sloughing 
off  of  reformations  ;  or  the  extreme  antogonistical  views 
of  those  hostile  to  the  efforts  of  active  Christian  teachers. 

A.    D.    269.    FIRST   COiraCILS — HOMOOUSION   HERESY — PAUL    OF 
SAMOSATA. 

Eusebius  says :  "  Paul  of  Samosata,  bishop  of  Antioch, 
"  *  *  *  when  he  came  to  assert  his  heresy,  '  that  Christ 
'■'"was  no  more  than  another  ordinary  onan^''  alarmed  all 
"the  governors  of  the  church;  and  a  very  numerous  coun- 
"  cil  of  prelates  ,  and  presbyters  and  deacons  met  at  Anti- 
"  och,  in  which  assisted  the  most  illustrious  bishops  then 
"flourishing;  only  the  great  Dionysius  of  Alexandria,  be- 
"ing  detained  by  infirmities  and  age,  sent  his  opinion  in 
"  writing,  and  died  soon  after.  The  merits  of  the  cause 
"were  examined  with  great  accuracy  and  application,  and 
"not  a  session  passed  without  a  variety  of  debates;  and 
"Paul,  from  time  to  time,  still  made  use  of  all  the  falla- 
"  cies  and  equivocations  imaginable,  to  render  his  blasphe- 
"  my  plausible.  But  the  last  and  deciding  council,  for 
"many,  were  held  on  this  occasion,  consisting  of  a  very 
"numerous  assembl.v  of  bishops  condemned  Paul.  The 
"  person  most  especially  concerned  in  unwinding  and  con- 
"futing  the  subterfuges  of  Paul,  was  Malhion,  a  presbyter 
"of  the  church  of  Antioch  {i.  ^.,  of  the  church  of  which 
"  Paul  was  bishop),  a  man  conspicuous  for  his  orthodoxy 
"  and  integrity,  and  who  formerly  had  been  chief  directoi 
"  in  the  Schola  Sophistica,  or  school  of  disputation,  there. 
"  No  sooner  had  Paul  received  his  sentence,  but  the  council 
"  notified  it  by  synodical  epistles  to  Dionysius,  bishop  of 
"  Rome,  and  to  Maximus,  bishop  of  Alexandria  (successor  to 
"Dionysius),  and  to  all  the  other  churches  of  the  Christian 
"  world,  wherein  they  gave  them  to  understand  that  on  the 
"  suppression  of  so  black  a  heresy  THEY  had  called  to- 
"gether  the  bishops,  far  and  near,  to  council;  that  Dio- 


FIRST   COUNCILS.  125 

"nysius,  of  Alexandria,  had  directed  his  epistle  relating  it 
"to  the  church  of  Antioch,  and  not  so  much  as  mentioned 
"the  name  of  Panl,  as  their  bishop  ;  Firmillian  (who  pre- 
"  sided  in  two  of  the  councils)  had  twice  condemned  the 
"heresy,  and  that  he  was  coming  again  to  Antioch  to  pro- 
"  nounce  sentence  against  the  heretic  (having  before  de- 
"ferred  it  upon  the  dissembled  assurance  of  Paul  that  he 
"  would  recant),  but  died  by  the  way  ;*  that  as  to  the  mor- 
"  als  and  practice  of  the  deceiver,  it  appeared  that  he  had 
"  made  all  his  fortune  by  fraud,  oppression  and  sacrhge, 
"and  simony;  that  he  had  brought  no  little  scandal  upan 
"the  church  by  his  pompous  aifectation  of  popularity,  and 
"  his  ambitious  assuming  of  secular  honors,  jjreferring  the 
"  name  of  state  pensioner  to  that  of  bishop,  and  erecting 
'■'-himself  a  civil  trilmnal  in  the  place  of  his  episcopal 
"  throne ;  that  he  maligned  the  name  of  worthy  memory 
"departed;  rioted  in  his  own  commendations;  concerted 
"  with  some  of  his  presbyters  that  they  should  blazen  his 
"character  from  the  pulpit;  and  instead  of  the  hymns  ap- 
"  pointed  to  be  sung  in  honor  of  Christ,  ordered  others  to 
"be  sung  in  honor  of  himself;  in  these  he  suffered  him- 
"  self  to  be  styled  an  angel  from  heaven  ;  that  he  had  used 
"  a  very  suspicious  familiarity  with  the  sisters  of  avowed 
"  virginity ;  that  he  had  revived  the  heresy  of  Artemas, 
"  and  asserted  that  Jesus  Christ  descended  not  from  heav- 
"  en,  but  had  his  original  upon  the  earth  ;  and  that,  there- 
'-'•fore^  they  had  thrust  him  out  of  the  communion  of  the 
"  Catholic  Church,  and  constituted  in  his  place  Dominus, 
"the  SON  of  Demetrian,  Paul's  predecessor.  Paul,  how- 
"  ever,  kept  the  keys  and  possession  of  the  church,  till 
"such  time  as  the  emperor  Aurelian,  being  petitioned,  was 
"pleased  to  command^  2a\A  force  him  to  retire.  But  though 
"  the  emperor  in  this  instance  supported  the  authority  of 
"  the  church,  by  exerting  his  own,  yet  soon  after  he  pre- 
"  pared  to  afHict  and  torture  her  with  persecution,  Avhen, 
"  by  Divine  Providence,  he  was  snatched  out  of  the  world 
*' after  a  reign  of  six  years."     Euseb.  vii.  124. 

By  the  foregoing  from  Eusebius  we  learn  that  the  Chris- 
tians still  formed  a  "Christian  Republic."  We  read  of 
the  then  "governors"  of  the  church,  not  the  governor.  I 
can  not  agree  with  Waddington  that  the  churches  existing 
in  this  confederation  were  scattered,  and  that  it  was  a 

^FirmiUian  died  at  Tarsus. 


126  CHURCn    HISTORY. 

necessity  and  a  blessing  that  they  were  after  gathered  into 
one  corporation;  for  that  organization  was  foreign  to  the 
genius  of  Christianity,  and  was  division,  not  union.  It  was 
only  the  union  of  the  strong  against  the  weak ;  of  the 
dominating  over  tlie  meek  ;  less  a  union,  than  a  conspiracy 
to  cut  off  from  union  those  who  would  retain  their  liberty. 
I  can  not  believe  that  the  church  was  or  can  be  benefited 
by  changing  its  primitive  constitution.  I  shudder  at  the 
thought  that  the  primitive  liberty  is  to  pass  away.  This 
was  the  golden  age  of  the  church,  the  reign  of  heaven; 
ui-l  no  worse  heresifjs  ever  existed  under  it  than  those 
which  will  exalt  themselves  under  the  fostering  care  of  the 
crude  creeds  of  barbarous  councils.  This  council  first  met 
A.  D.  164.  The  president  of  it  was  the  great  Firmillian, 
bishop  of  Oappadocia.  So  obnoxious  was  Paul,  that  he 
was  not  addressed  in  the  letters;  he  was  beneath  contempt* 
The  church  of  Antioch,  though  yet  the  largest  in  the 
world,  was  not  consulted.  One  of  its  deacons,  a  sophist, 
took  strong  grounds  against  Paul,  and  this  led  to  his  over- 
throw. Paul  did  not  confess  the  obnoxious  doctrine  with 
which  he  was  charged ;  and  several  years  passed  before 
they  could  prove  it  against  him.  It  is  quite  probable  that 
they  never  proved  it  from  his  standpoint.  Perhaps  the 
great  church  at  Antioch  never  saw  it  in  its  obnoxious 
form,  as  they  still  retained  him ;  and  it  was  only  after  the 
overthrow  of  his  own  sovereign  that  the  Roman  emperor, 
Aurelian,  succeeded  in  deposing  him,  Paul  was  a  heretic: 
but  after  all,  Eusebius  plainly  shows  that  the  heresy  lay 
more  in  his  character  than  in  any  theological  expression. 
His  character  was  plainly  unchristian ;  though  too  much 
resembling  that  of  Chrysostom,  Ambrose  and  others  so 
X)opular  in  subsequent  ages  ;  but  his  heresy  of  doctrine  it 
was  very  hard  to  prove.  Thousands  called  orthodox  now 
(in  1870),  hold  the  same  heretical  views.  I  have  at  pres- 
ent a  discussion  with  a  minister  holding  precisely  the  same 
views  with  Paul  of  Samosata. 

It  seems  hard  to  believe  that  any  sane  man  can  believe 


FIKST   COUNCILS.  127 

in  Jesus  at  all,  and  j^et  believe  that  he  was  but  a  man. 
We  can  not  imagine  a  man's  assuming  the  character  of 
Jesus.  None  ever  did.  None  ever  could.  Who  could  say  "  I 
and  my  Father  are  one,"  meaning  God.  "  My  Father  isgreat- 
er  than  I."  "I  am  the  light  of  the  world."  "I  came  down 
from  heaven."  "  All  power  in  heaven  and  earth  is  given 
to  me."  "A  greater  than  Solomon  is  here."  Let  your 
great  man  thus  speak  and  he  would  be  regarded,  not  as  a  re- 
ligious teacher,  but  as  a  madman,  a  candidate  for  a  strait- 
jacket  or  the  asylum.  Yet  Theodotus  and  Artemon  of  Rome 
are  accused  of  teaching  that  "  the  Son  of  God  was  no  more 
t'lan  an  ordinary  man."  (Euseb.  v.  99.)  I  agree  with  Bauer 
that  there  is  no  evidence  that  Paul  denied  the  supernat- 
ural birth  of  Christ.  Neander  says :  "It  may  be,  however, 
that  he  too  spoke  of  the  generation  of  the  Logos  in  his 
own  sense,  *  *  *  *  the  procession  of  the  Logos  to  a  cer- 
tain outward  activity.  When  his  opponents,  judging  rather 
from  a  connection  of  ideas  in  their  own  minds  than  in 
his,  accused  him  of  supposing  two  Sons  of  God,  he  could 
confidently  affirm  on  the  contrary  that  he  knew  of  but  one 
Son  of  God."  (Nean.  i.  580,  602,  608.)  But  this  accusing  him 
of  holding  two  Sons  of  God,  plainly  i^roves  that  he  held 
to  the  divine  Logos'^  while  Neander's  view  of  the  grounds 
of  denial,  seem  based  in  the  idea  that  Paul  would  deny 
the  sonship  of  the  L^ogos\  but  leave  it  consubstantial  with 
the  Father,  that  is  God.  This  explains  the  whole  matter, 
for  the  doctrine  condemned  by  the  council  was  that  Christ 
was  Ilomoousion  with  the  Father.  Thus  it  seems  that 
Paul  was  condemned  for  denying  the  real  personality  and 
sonship  of  the  divine  nature  of  Christ ;  by  denying  which 
he  was  left  with  no  Son,  but  the  son  of  Mary,  and,  there- 
fore, they,  accused  him  of  holding  that  Christ  was  a  man. 
Therefore  Neander  says,  "Soon  after  Sabellius  we  see 
Monarchianism  revived  in  an  opposite  form,  by  Paul  of 
Samosata,  bishop  of  Antioch,  except  that  he  received  into 
his  system  the  Logos  doctrine."  (Nean.  i.  603.)  There 
was  truly  no  difference  worth  the  name,  except  that  Sa- 


128  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

bellius  affirmed  and  Paul  denied  tliat  God  suffered.  Nei- 
ther had  any  true  Son  of  God.  Their  error  was  similar 
Their  heresy  equal.  The  council  decided  that  the  word 
Homoousion  was  heretical,  lest  men  should,  by  its  use,  con- 
found Christ  with  the  Father,  and  thus  annihilate  the  Son. 
For  a  further  consideration  of  the  proof  of  heretical  opin- 
ions of  Paul  of"  Samosata,  see  Bule.  Fid.  Nicene,  ii.  25-36. 

I  am  particular  to  know  what  was  condemned  in  this 
celebrated  council  ;  because  it  is  a  council  of  the  highest 
antiquity,  attended  by  the  very  best  men  of  the  church* 
it  was  free  from  any  influence  of  party;  it  had  full  time, 
nearly  four  years,  for  consideration;  and,  therefore,  what  it 
condemned,  was  certainlj^  regarded  as  heresy  in  the  primi- 
tive church.  Milner,  in  his  usual  bigoted  style,  says:  "  No 
fact  in  church  history  is  more  certain  than  the  deposition 
and  exclusion  of  Paul ;  and  the  inference  is,  thence, demon- 
stratively clear,  that  Socinianism  in  the  year  two  hundred 
and  sixty-nine,  w^as  not  suffered  to  exist  within  the  pale  of 
the  Christian  Church."  (i.  230.)  To  which  1  add  no  fact  is 
better  established  in  history  than  this,  that  Paul  was  not 
condemned  for  Socinianism,  but  for  the  opposite  extreme, 
as  held  by  Mr.  Milner  himself:  and  that,  therefore,  Mr. 
Milner's  own  miscalled  orthodox  doctrine,  "in  the  year 
two  hundred  and  sixty-nine  was  not  sufl'ered  to  exist  with- 
in the  pale  of  the  Christian  Church." 

We  have  two  modes  of  finding  out  w^hat  was  con- 
demned at  the  Council  of  Antioch.  First,  by  finding  what 
Paul  held,  who  was  condemned.  Second,  by  finding  the 
name  of  the  doctrine  condemned.  We  proceed  to  the 
first.     Waddington  says: 

"Dr.  Burton  ingenuously  argues,  from  a  careful  exami- 
" nation  of  contemporary  evidence,  compared  chiefly  with 
"  the  assertions  of  Athanasius,  that  '  Paul  believed  Jesus 
"  to  be  a  mere  human  being,  but  conceived  him  to  become 
"  Christ,  by  being  united  to  the  eternal  Logos  of  God.' " 
Wad.  p.  7J. 

Mosheim  says:  "Paul  of  Samosata,  bishop  of  Antioch, 
"as  far  as  we  can  judge  of  his  doctrine,  by  the  accounts 
"of  it  that  have  been  transmitted  to  us,  it  seems  to  have 


FIRST  COUNCILS.  129 

"  amounted  to  this : — '  That  the  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  exist 
'•in  God,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  faculties  of  reason 
"  and  activity  do  in  man ;  that  Christ  was  born  a  mere 
"man;  but  that  the  reason  or  wisdom  of  the  Father  de- 
"scended  into  him,  and  by  him  wrought  miracles  upon  earth, 
"  and  instructed  the  nations;  and,  finally,  that  on  account 
"of  this  union  of  the  divine  word  with  the  man  Jesus, 
"Christ  might,  though  improperly,  be  called  God.'  Such 
"  were  the  real  sentiments  of  Paul.  He  involved  them, 
"however,  in  such  deep  obscurity,  by  the  ambiguous 
"  forms  of  speech  with  which  he  affected  to  explain  and 
"defend  them,  that  in  several  councils  convoked  for  an  in- 
"  quiry  into  his  errors,  he  could  not  be  convicted  of  heresy. 
"At  length,  however,  a  council  was  assembled  in  the  year 
"  269,  in  which  Malchion,  the  rhetorician,  drew  him  forth 
"from  his  obscurity,  detected  his  evasions,  and  exposed 
"him  in  his  true  colors;  in  consequence  of  which  he  was 
"degraded  from  the  episcopal  order."     Mos.  i.  99. 

Gibbon  says :  "  His  heresy,  like  that  of  Netotas  and 
"  Sabellius,  tended  to  confound  the  mysterious  distinctions 
"  of  the  divine  persons.  Seventy  or  eighty  bishops  *  *  * 
"  without  consulting  the  rights  of  the  clergy  or  the  people, 
"appointed  a  successor  (to  Paul)  by  their  own  authority. 
"  The  manifest  irregularity  of  this  procedure  increased 
"the  number  of  the  discontented  faction.  Paul  was  up- 
"  held  by  Zenobia,  the  queen  of  Palmyra,  and  received  from 
"  the  public  treasury  a  sum  not  less  than  six  thousand  dol- 
"  lars,  and  in  spite  of  the  bishops  retained  possession  of 
"  the  church  for  four  years,  or  until  the  overthrow  of  Queen 
"  Zenobia  by  the  Romans,  after  which  Aurelian  forcibly 
"  deposed  him."     Gib.  ii.  47-49. 

It  is,  by  the  above  authorities,  settled  beyond  question 
that  Paul  held  the  popular  doctrine  advocated  in  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

Tlie  friends  of  Paul  of  Samosata  declined  gradually  for 
centuries  under  the  opprobrious  title  of  Paulians ;  and  as 
such  we  will  find  them  persecuted  from  century  to  century. 

Ilomoousion. 

"The   historians    say:     "The  Council  of  Antioch  was 
"moved  to  condemn  the  expression  Ilomoousion^    Arth.. 
"De  Synod,  43.  Hilar.  De  Synod,  85.  Nean.  i.  106. 
9 


130  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Gibbon  says  of  a  kindred  doctrine  in  325.  "The  Sabel 
"lian  sense,  which  about  fifty  years  before  (^.  g,,  269)  had 
"  obliged  the  council  of  Antioch  to  prohibit  this  celebrated 
"term,  (viz.,  Ilomoousion.)  Dionysius  the  Great,  of  Alex- 
"  andria,  being  too  aged  and  infirm  to  attend,  wroVe  his 
"opinion  to  the  council,  and  'declared  himself  opposed  to 
"  the  Homoousion.''  "     Nean.  i.  606. 

Gibbon.  "  Homoousion  means  of  the  same  substance 
"in  kind.   The  stars  are  Ilomoousion  to  each  other."  ii.  247. 

Jortin.  "  That  b^ioovniov  means  of  one  substance  in 
"kind  hath  been  showed  by  Petavius."     ii.  55,  56. 

The  sense  then  is  that  Christ  bears  the  same  relation 
to  God,  that  the  stars  do  to  each  other  ;  or  that  a  star  does 
to  its  own  substance.  And  thus  we  learn  that  tliis  doc- 
trine was  condemned  in  269,  by  the  whole  Christian  world, 
as  equivalent  to  holding  Christ  "  no  more  thn  an  ordinary 
man,"  as  Eusebius  says,  and  classed  with  all  heresy  by  the 
oldest  and  most  Christian  council  of  the  primitive  church. 
This  ended  at  once  all  the  claim  of  every  form  of  Gnosti- 
cism and  humanitarianism.  The  doctrine  held  by  the 
leading  Christian  ministers  may  be  seen  in  the  words  of 
the  fathers  respecting  the  Son  of  God. 

OFFICERS. 

The  officers  in  the  apostolical  church  were  hishopi-, 
preshyters^  and  deacons^  as  is  evident  to  any  one  who  care- 
fully reads  the  New  Testament,  and  all  efforts  to  prove 
that  hislioj)  ^nd^preslyter  are  one  and  the  same  as  to  office 
are  certainly  efforts  to  set  aside  a  Scripture  rank.  The 
Christians  constituted  a  well  organized  Christian  republic, 
with  its  deacons  for  the  secular  ministry,  its  elders  to 
preach  and  rule  the  flock,  and  its  hisJiop  as  president ;  and 
these  independent  Christian  congregations  were  ever}'"- 
where  represented  by  their  presidents,  bishops  or'chiei 
pastors  and  all  u,nited  under  Christ  then-  spiritual  head  in 
one  glorious  kingdom.  The  church  included  all  the  be- 
lievers in  one  village,  district  or  metropolis.  The  chnrch 
at  Jerusalem,  though  including   "  many  thousand''  believ- 


OFFICERS.  131 

ers,  was  one,  with  one  bishop,  but  many  presbyters,  and 
yet  more  deacons.  One  church  of  many  congregations 
constituted  this  Christian  republic,  of  which  the  bishop 
was  president,  not  monarch.  The  prevailing  episcopacy 
has  the  iruilt  of  tyranny,  corruption  and  blood;  but  this 
episcopacy  is  not  the  ancient  one,  but  an  abuse  of  it,  and 
an  abuse  which  could  never  have  grown  out  of  the  Presby- 
terian, Independent  or  Congregational  forms  ol  church 
government.  The  primitive  bishops,  as  to  office,  are 
traceable  to  the  apostles  who  founded  the  churches ;  and 
are  too  early  known  in  history  to  admit  any  time  for  a 
change  from  a  pre-existing  form  of  government.  The 
usurpation  of  thrones,  episcopal  thrones,  with  an  imperial, 
head,  is  readily  detected.  In  269,  when  Paul  of  Samosata, 
the  first  heretical  bishop,  was  deposed,  it  was  done  by  the 
equal  bishops,  assembled  in  council,  "  governors"  of  the 
church.  There  was  no  summoning  by  one^  no  obligations 
to  one.  They  received  an  epistle  from  Dionysius,  bishop 
of  Alexandria.  Firmilian,  bishop  of  Cesarea,  presided  and 
was  on  his  way  to  carry  out  the  decrees  of  the  council, 
when  he  died  at  Tarsus.  The  appeal  to  the  emperor  Aure- 
lian,  to  enforce  the  decree,  showed  (hat  the  only  earthly 
power  above  the  council  was  the  civil  government.  But 
even  this  was  a  strange  feature  in  the  history,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  fact  that  the  will  of  the  church  at 
Antioch  was  not  consulted,  though  it  was  then  the  most 
flourishing  church  in  the  world.*  The  appeal  to  the  em- 
peror, and  persecution  that  followed  were  equally  contrary 
to  the  whole  genius  of  the  gospel. 

"It  is  highly  probable,"  says  Mosheim,  "  that  the  Church 
"of  Jerusalem,  grown  considerably  numerous,  and  de- 
"  prived  of  the  ministers  and  the  apostles,  who  were  gone 
"  to  instruct  other  nations,  was  the  first  which  chose  a 
"president  or  bishop:  and  it  is  no  less  probable  that  the 
"  other  churches  followed,  by  degrees,  such  a  respectable 
"  example."  And  it  is  certain  that,  in  at  least  two  in- 
"  stances,   such  presidents  were  appointed  by  an  apostle. 

'•'"  During  the  few  first  years  of  Christianity,  the  most  flourishing  church  was,  un- 
doubtedly, that  of  Antioch."    Waddington,  p.  39. 


132  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

"Mosbeim,  however,  considers  'the  two  terms  as  undoubt- 
"  edly  applied  to  the  same  order  of  men.'  Theodoret,  a 
"  father  of  tlie  fourth  century,  admits  and  explains  that 
♦  circumstance  as  follows  :  '  The  same  persons  were  an- 
'  ciently  called  both  bishops  and  presbyters,  while  tlioso 
"which  are  now  called  bishops  were  called  apostles;  but, 
"  shortly  afterward,  the  name  of  apostles  was  appro. 
"  priatod  to  those  who  were  apostles  indeed,  and  then  the 
"name  bishop  was  given  to  those  before  called  apostles.'* 
"(See  also  a  passage  from  St.  Ambrose*,  cited  by  Amalarius 
"  and  Bingham.)  Whatever  value  we  may  attach  to  this 
"  explanation,  it  is  quite  certain  that  bishops  began  very 
"  early  to  assume  the  title  of  '  successors  of  the  apostles,' 
''which  we  find  to  have  been  done  by  Firmilian,  Cyprian, 
t'  and  other  bishops."     Note  on  Mosheim. 

Although  the  evils  of  its  abuse  are  great,  the  benefits  of 
the  true  church  government  are  far  greater.  The  former 
are  those  incidental  to  every  blessing  :  the  latter  are  those 
accruing  under  a  divinely  appointed  pastorate,  which  can 
appropriate  the  gifts  of  the  ministry  and  attend  to  the  in- 
terests both  of  churches  and  ministers.  The  present 
episcopacy,  which  is  a  usurpation,  grew  out  of  a  total  dis- 
regard of  the  duties  of  the  bishops  as  pastors,  their  inde- 
pendence of  each  other,  and  the  independence  of  the 
churches  to  select  their  own  pastors.  The  presbyters 
might  be  called  subordinate  pastors.  There  was  but  one 
bishop  in  one  city,  but  there  were  many  presbyters  ;  and 
these  when  in  charge  of  congregations  were  bishops  or 
overseers  of  such  congregations,  but  only  bishops  that  far, 
except  as  every  church  office  enlarged  itself  by  necessity : 
as,  in  the  absence  of  the  presbj^ter  the  deacon  filled  his 
place,  and  in  the  absence  of  the  bishop  the  senior  elder 
filled  his  place;  but  all  were  subject  to  the  church. 

The  first  exercise  of  foreign  authority  was  at  Antioch 
in  269. 

That  the  pastoral  bishops  were  found  in  every  district, 
with  their  subordinate  presbyteit,,  is  a  truth  so  plainly  re- 
corded in  the  oldest  histories,  that  one  of  the  first  things 
which  a  Presbyterian  or  Congregationalist  historian  does 


OFFICERS.  133 

is  to  subvert  the  record.  The  following  are  named  by 
Eusebius  as  successive  bishops  of  the  Jerusalem  Church, 
the  first  fifteen  being  all  Hebrews,  viz:  1st,  James;  2d, 
Simon  ;  3d,  Justus  ;  4th,  Zaccheus  ;  5th,  Tobias  ;  6th,  Ben- 
jamii) ;  7th,  John;  8th,  Matthew;  9th, Philip;  10th,  Seneca; 
11th,  Justus;  12th,  Levi ;  13th,  Ephres;  14th,  Joseph  ;  15th, 
Judas.  These  were  all  of  the  circumcision,  and  lived  be- 
fore the  d^istruction  of  Jerusalem.  After  these  came  Mar- 
cus a  Gentile,  16th;  Cassanus,  17th;  Publius,  18lh  ;  Map- 
imus,  19th;  Julian,  20th;  Caius,  21st;  Symmachus,  22d. 
This  Symmachus  was  an  Ebionite.  The  Ebionites  were  so 
called,  they  said,  from  being  '  poor  in  spirit.'  Then  came 
Caius,  23d  ;  Symmachus,  24tli ;  Caius,  25th ;  Valens,  26th ; 
Julian,  27th ;  Capito,  28th;  Valens  IL,  29th;  Dolichianus, 
30th ;  Narcissus,  31st ;  Alexander,  32d;  Dius,  33d;  Germanius, 
34th;  Gordius,  35th;  Alexander,  IL,  36th;  Magabanus, 
37th  ;  etc.  Pp.  55,  64,  78,  94,  104.  They  are  spoken  of  by 
Eusebius  as  "  governors  of  the  church,"  "  presiding," 
"holding  the  chair,"  etc.  Pp.120,  124.  Like  catalogues 
are  given  though  perhaps  not  so  perfectly  of  the  bishops 
of  AJexandria,  Rome,  Ephesus,  Antioch,  Cesarea,  Corinth, 
Crete,  Athens,  etc.  I  say  not  so  perfectly,  for  I  notice 
that  Rome  begins  with  Linus,  but  Peter  and  Paul  seem  to 
be  put  in  as  if  by  some  later  hand.  P.  70.  None  of  these 
were  bishops  in  the  Roman  or  Episcopal  sense;  but  they 
were  the  presiding  pastors  over  the  congregations,  and 
shepherds  of  their  districts  or  cities,  watching  over  the 
interests  of  the  cause.  The  historical  records  are  confirmed 
by  our  failure  to  read  of  more  than  one  bishop  in  a  city; 
though  there  were  many  thousand  believers.  That  is,  we 
do  not  find  two  at  a  time  bishops  of  Jerusalem,  or  Antioch, 
or  Alexandria;  but  one  bishop  and  the  presbyters. 

We  should  correct  the  evils  which  have  accumulated, 
but  not  destroy  the  primitive  church  government,  which 
possesses  advantages  innumerable ;  one  of  the  greatest 
being,  that  it  gives  a  central  overseer  to  attend  to  the 
interests  of  the  churches,  saving  them  often  from  death  by 


134  CHURCH  HISTORY 

supplying  them  with  preaching,  often  bringing  unto  their 
aid  ministers  whose  services  were  otherwise  lost,  thus  pre- 
serving both  church  and  minister. 

There  were  also  in  the  ancient  churches  deaconesses 
and  preshutides^  that  is  women  who  filled  the  offices  of 
deacon  and  presbyter.  This  fact  is  so  well  known  that  no 
one  of  intelligence  denies  it.  Pliny  put  two  deaconesses 
to  the  torture  ;  but  the  pagan  was  compelled  to  acknowl- 
edge their  constancy  in  torment.  The  presbutides  are 
often  mentioned  by  Paul  as  widows.  These  women  taught 
and  baptized,  especially  their  own  sex  ;  but  truth  compels 
me  to  admit  that  we  never  find  them  filling  the  pastoral 
office  in  the  ancient  church.  Although  such  is  the  history, 
the  custom  of  that  age  may  have  had  much  to  do  with 
their  subordination.     Dr.  Macknight  says: 

"  Clement  of  Alexandria  reckons  widows  among  ec- 
"clesiastical  persons  as  follows:  'There  are  many  precepts 
"in  Scripture  concerning  those  who  are  chosen,  some  for 
"priests,  others  for  bishops,  others  for  deacons,  and  others 
"for  widows.'" 

"  Grotius  tells  us  :  'These  female  presbyters  or  elders 
"were  ordained  by  the  imposition  of  hands  till  the  cpun- 
"  cil  of  Laodicea ;'  and  for  tliis  he  quotes  the  Xlth  canon 
"of  that  council." 

"  Euodia  and  Syntyche,  Phil.  4:  3,  it  is  probable,  were 
"  female  presbyters.  Perhaps  also  Priscilla,  Tryphena  and 
"Tryphooa  were  of  the  same  order,  who  are  described, 
•'Pom.  16  :  3-12,  as  laboring  in  the  Lord.'  " 

"For  these  reasons,"  *  *  *  "  J  think  1  Tim.  3  :  11,  de- 
"  scribes  the  qualifications,  not  of  the  deacons'  wives,  but 
"  of  the  women,"  etc.     Macknight,  on  1  Tim.  3:11. 

On  1  Tim.  5:3,"  Honor  the  widows."  Dr.  Macknight 
says :  "  The  Greek  commentators  inform  us  ihat  the  wid- 
"  ows  of  whom  the  apostle  speaks  in  this  passage  were  the 
"  aged  women  appointed  by  the  church  to  instruct." 

On  Titus  2 :  3,  "  Aged  women."  Dr.  Macknight  says  : 
"  Jigea(ivTLde^  commonly  *  *  *  evidently  denotes  in  this 
"verse  such  aged  women  as  were  employed  by  the  church 
"  in  teaching  the  young  of  their  own  sex  in  the  doctrines." 

Waddington  says:  "  The  deaconesses  of  whom  we  read 
"in  early  church  history,  may  probably  have  been  widows 


OFFICERS.  135 

<' appointed  for  the  better  preservation  of  the  ministry 
"  from  scandal  and  calumny,  to  superintend  the  charitable 
"distribution  made  to  the  female  portion  of  the  poor."  p. 
42.  "The  baptismal  font  of  the  women  was  separated 
"from  that  of  the  men,  and  they  were  as  much  as  possible 
"  attended  by  the  deaconesses  of  the  church."     p.  53. 

Neander  says:  "Besides  the  deacons,  there  were  ap- 
"  pointed  also  deaconesses,  for  the  female  portion  of  the 
"  communities,  because  the  free  access  of  men  to  the  fe- 
•  male  sex,  especially  in  the  East,  where  custom  demanded 
"  so  careful  a  separation  of  the  sexes,  might  excite  suspi- 
"  cion  and  give  offense.  If  the  women,  in  conformity  with 
"  their  natural  destination,  were  excluded  from  the  offices  of 
"teaching  and  church  government,  yet  the  peculiar  quali- 
"fications  of  the  sex  were  now  claimed,  in  this  way,  as 
"  peculiar  gifts  for  the  service  of  the  communities.  By 
*' means  of  such  deaconesses  the  gospel  could  be  intro- 
"  duced  into  the  bosom  of  families,  where,  owing  to  the 
"  customs  of  the  East,  no  man  could  gain  admittance.  They 
"  were  also  bound,  as  Christian  wives  and  mothers  of  tried 
"experience  in  all  the  relations  of  their  sex,  to  assist  the 
"  younger  women  of  the  communities  with  their  counsel 
"  and  encouragement."     i.  188. 

Dr.  Adam  Clarke  says:  "There  were  deaconesses  in  the 
"primitive  church  whose  duty  it  was  to  attend  to  the  fe- 
"  male  converts  at  baptism,  instruct  the  candidates  for 
"  baptism,"  etc.  "It  is  evident  that  they  were  ordained  to 
"  their  office  by  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  the  bishop," 
etc.  "In  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century  the  order  became 
"  extinct  in  the  Latin  Church ;  but  continued  in  the  Greek 
"  Church  to  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century."  Clarke,  on 
Rom.  xvi.  1. 

Dr.  Macknight  says :  "  Of  these  I  think  the  apostle 
"  writes  in  his  epistle  to  Titus,  (2 :  3,  4)  where  he  gives  an 
"  account  of  their  office  and  calls  them  npeofivTideg,  female 
"  elders^  because  of  their  age.  It  is  believed  that  they  aie 
"  the  persons  called  widows^  of  whose  maintenance  by  the 
"  churcht  he  apostle  speaks  in  1  Tim.  5 :  2."  Macknight^ 
on  1  Tim.  3  :  11. 

These  p7'eshuiides  and  deaconesses  were  not  independent 
ministers  of  the  word,  with  power  to  ordain  others,  but 
they  received  their  appointment  from  the  regular  minis- 
ters and  were  assistants  in  the  work.     We  do  not  read  of 


136  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

any  case  where  tliey  were  bishops  of  churches,  or  where 
they  were  consulted  in  councils  or  on  ordination.  They 
seem  to  have  been  a  subordinate  but  very  useful  ministry^ 
adapted  to  service  connected  with  the  women  and  children 
of  the  congregation.  The  order  should  be  restored  in  the 
Christian  Church. 

Of  an  order  called  prophets^  Waddington  says :  "  For 
"the  first  thirty  years,  perhaps  somewhat  longer,  after  the 
"  ascension  of  Christ,  the  labors  of  the  apostles  were  aided 
"  by  certain  ministers  entitled  prophets,  who  were  gifted 
"with  occasional  inspiration,  and  taught  under  the  influ- 
"ence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  order  of  teachers  was 
"  withdrawn  from  the  church  when  their  office  became  no 
"longer  necessary  for  its  advancement,  and  it  appears 
"  wholly  to  have  ceased  before  the  end  of  the  century." 

I  think  not.  The  church  has  been  too  ready  to  give  up 
its  spiritual  gifts ;  too  ready  to  relinquish  its  hold  upon 
heaven. 

CHURCH   TEACHERS    OF    THE    FIRST   PERIOD. 

Hegesippus,  the  first  church  historian,  stands  eminent 
among  the  early  ministers.  This  great  and  good  man  was  a 
Jew  by  birth,  and  a  member  of  the  first  Christian  Church 
at  Jerusalem.  He  wrote  the  history  of  the  church  from 
the  time  of  the  blessed  Savior  to  his  own  day,  and  from 
him  Eusebius  obtained  an  account  of  the  most  important 
events  of  the  early  ages.  On  his  word  we  yet  rely.  To 
moderate  the  growing  antagonism  between  the  Gentile  and 
the  Jewish  congregations,  was  one  of  the  great  charitable 
works  of  his  life.  Though  of  Jewish  OKigin  and  decided 
Jewish  bias,  as  were  all  the  primitive  Christians,  yet  he 
traveled  far  and  wide,  visiting  the  distant  Gentile  church- 
es, examining  their  doctrine,  and  reporting  favorably. 
As  the  result  of  his  travels  he  wrote  five  books  of  eccle- 
siastical events,  and  comments  on  the  writings  of  the  ear- 
ly church  teachers,  and  the  doctrines,  and  practices  of  the 
churches.  He  was  received  everywhere  with  considera- 
tion and  respect.    He  visited  Rome  to  know  if  that  church 


CHURCH   TEACHERS.  137 

held  fast  to  the  apostolic  doctrine.  There  he  "  wrote  a  his- 
"tory  of  the  preaching  of  the  apostles  in  five  books,  in  a 
"plain  easy  style  ;  and  declares  that  as  he  had  made  it  his 
"business  to  visit  the  bishops  of  the  church,  so  he  had 
"found  them  all  unanimous  in  their  doctrines;  that  the 
"  same  books  of  the  law,  the  same  gospel  of  faith,  which 
"  God  had  revealed  both  before  and  by  Christy  had  been 
"constantly  i^reserved."    Euseb.  v.  80. 

Tlie  Christian  affection  manifested  in  his  account  of 
the  martyrdom  of  "James,  the  Lord's  brother,"  caused  the 
Gentile  Christians,  of  later  times,  to  suspect  him  of  favor- 
ing the  Jewish  view.  I  can  not  see  why  Jewish  con- 
verts were  not  as  likely  to  be  right  as  Pagan  converts ;  or 
why  the  law  of  Moses  might  not  be  as  good  as  the  laws  of 
uninspired  teachers.  Three  things  prove  that  Hegesippus 
was  orthodox  in  his  day.  First  his  love  was  intense  for 
the  earliest  form  of  Christianity  as  it  existed  with  the  first 
(Jewish)  Christians.  Second,  he  visited  the  principal 
churches,  and  pronounced  them  one  in  apostolic  doctrine. 
Third,  he  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  the  writings  of  Clem- 
ent, especially  his  epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  What  Hege- 
sippus was  in  faith,  such  was  the  prevailing  religion  of 
the  age  in  which  he  lived.  His  travels,  his  comments,  his 
fatherly  care,  his  free  criticisms,  his  unblemished  charac- 
ter as  a  church  teacher,  his  freedom  from  partisan  bias, 
as  shown  by  his  being  named  by  Neander  as  "  a 
church  teacher  of  strong  Jewish  coloring,"  of  "anti-Gnos- 
tic tendenc}^,"  who  wrote  of  "James  the  Lord's  brother 
quite  after  the  Ebionite  taste."  Valerius  thinks  his  books 
were  "lost  on  account  of  errors  ;"  and  Dr.  Priestly  thinks 
those  "errors  "  were  "Unitarian  views.''  Thus  all  condemn 
him  and  claim  him  ;  for  he  was  more  truly  Christian  than 
his  judges.  That  he  was  not  an  Ebionite  is  shown  by  his 
approval  of  Clement.  The  loss  of  his  history  is  irrepara- 
ble ;  but,  as  Neander  says,  "  sufficient  is  preserved  to  show 
that  he  gave  an  account  of  heretics  of  the  Gnostic  sort 
and  that  he  was  a  master  teacher  in  Israel,  and  the  bright 


138  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

est  luminary  of  that  day.  He  visited  Anicetus  of  Rome, 
and  other  bishops  in  his  travels,  to  discover  whether  they 
held  the  true  doctrine,  and  reports  them  as  all  holding  the 
same  faith,  taught  by  the  law,  the  prophets  and  our  Lord." 
Nean.  vol.  i.  p.  67. 

Gregory  surnamed  Thaumaturgus  or  Wonder  WorTcer^ 
A.  D.  210,  was  a  disciple  of  Origen.  He  was  by  birth  a 
man  of  fortune,  and  a  pagan  of  Pontus.  In  231  on  his 
way  to  Berytus  to  study  law,  Origen  met  and  engaged 
him  in  the  interests  of  the  Savior.  He  then  studied 
with  Origen  eight  years.  He  then  returned  to  his  native 
city,  of  which  he  became  bishop,  A.  D.  243,  when  there 
were  only  17  Christians  there.  He  died  A.  D.  270,  leaving 
scarcely  17  pagans  there.  In  the  Decian  persecution  he 
was  obliged  to  leave.  He  took  part  against  Paul  of  Sa- 
mosata,  in  269,  at  the  Council  of  Antioch.  He  was  a  stu- 
dent of  Scripture,  and  a  laborious  and  faithful  pastor.  His 
fame  filled  the  world.  Even  the  pagans  called  him  the 
second  Moses. 

Beryllus  was  bishop  of  Bostra,  in  Arabia  A.  D.  290.  He 
held  views  respecting  the  j)erson  of  Christ,  which  Origen 
effectually  refuted  and  he  renounced  them,  and  became 
one  of  Origen's  firmest  and  most  devoted  friends. 

Caius,  a  presbyter  at  Rome,  A.  D.  200,  was  the  author 
of  three  works  of  which  there  are  fragments  preserved  by 
Eusebius.  The  Italian  Muratori  ascribes  to  him  a  frag- 
ment containing  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  interesting 
catalogues  of  the  New  Testament.  He  is  often  quoted  by 
Eusebius  who  sets  great  value  on  his  testimony.  The 
fragment  referred  to  was  discovered  in  the  Ambrosian 
library  at  Milan  by  Muratori,  about  the  year  1720. 

Methodius,  bishop  of  Tyre,  in  Phoenica,  or  Patara  in 
Lycia,  was  martyred  in  the  Diocletian  persecution,  A.  D. 
311.     Several  of  his  writings  are  preserved. 

Valentinus,  the  celebrated  Gnostic,  was  by  birth  an 
Egyptian,  probably  of  Jewish  origin,  and  educated  at 
Alexandria,  A.  D.  120. 


CHURCH   TEACHERS.  139 

Serapion  was  the  successor  of  Theophiius  in  the  bish- 
opric of  Antioch,  A.  D.  190.  By  an  extract  from  one  of  his 
letters  preserved  by  Eusebius  we  see  how  careful  the 
primitive  churches  were  in  respect  to  receiving  books 
which  claimed  to  be  of  apostolic  origin,  and  how  watchful 
they  were  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the  ISIew  Testament. 

Agrippa  Castor  lived  under  the  emperor  Hadrian,  A. 
D.  120.  He  wrote  a  work  in  29  books  against  Basilides  of 
Alexandria,  the  Egyj)tian  Gnostic.  Agrippa  was  highly 
distinguished  as  a  man  of  learning,  and  was  confided  in  as 
a  man  of  integrity. 

Pantaenus  of  Sicily,  of  the  second  century,  was  a 
Stoic,  converted  to  Christianity  by  a  disciple  of  the 
apostles ;  and  became  master  of  the  school  at  Alexandria. 
He  acquired  much  reputation  as  a  teacher.  Clement  was 
one  of  his  celebrated  scholars.  He  also  preached  in  In- 
dia. He  found  in  India  certain  Jewish  Christians  who 
had  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  in*Hebrew,  which  had  been 
left  to  them  by  their  teacher,  the  Apostle  Bartholomew. 
He  died  at  Alexandria,  A.  D.  212. 

Tatian  was  a  Syrian,  well  instructed  in  the  sciences  of 
the  Greeks.  After  studying  the  Scriptures  in  company 
with  Justin  Martyr,  with  whose  school  he  was  long  con- 
nected, he  made  a  profession  of  the  Christian  faith.  Tatian 
withdrew  to  the  East,  and  there  fell  into  certain  Gnostic 
views.  His  "  Harmony  of  the  Gospels"  commenced  with 
the  first  words  of  John,  "  In  the  beginning,"  etc.  This  work 
was  considered  of  great  value. 

Theophiius  of  Antioch  has  become  immortal  as  the 
father  of  the  word  Trinity  in  the  eclesiastical  world.  Jor^ 
tin  says:  ^'•Theophiius  Aiitiochenus  who  lived  in  the 
second  century  is  the  first  in  whose  writings  the  word 
Trinity  is  used  for  the  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit."  Jor.  i.  130. 
Stoioe  says :  "  Theophiius^  the  sixth  bishop  of  Antioch. 
By  reading  the  Scriptures,  he  was  converted  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  Christian  ministry.  He  wrote  against  Her- 
mogenes   and   Marcion;  a   commentary   on   the    Gospels, 


140  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

and  three  books  in  vindication  of  Christianity.     The  thro- 
days  of  creation  which   preceded  the   appearance  of  ihe 
sun  he  regards  as  typical  of  the  Trinity  (rprndoc)  of  God 
This  is  the  earliest  mention  which  we  have  of  the  word 
Ti'inity. 

Gibbon  says:  "If  Theophilus  bishop  of  Antioch  (see 
Dupin)  was  the  first  who  employed  the  word  Triad 
Trinity^  that  abstract  term  which  was  already  familiar  to 
the  schools  of  philosophy,  must  have  been  introduced  into 
the  theology  of  the  Christians  after  the  middle  of  the  sec- 
ond century. 

Waddington  says:  "Tertullian  was  the  first  author  who 
used  the  words  Irlnltas  and  ly&rsona  in  the  theological 
sense."    F.  77. 

HISTORIANS. 

Early  Ecclesiastical  Historians. — The  only  historian  of 
this  age,  any  of  whose  writings  have  escaped  the  torch  of 
Popery  is  Hegesippus,  who  seems  to  have  been  an  apostle 
over  all  the  churches.  He  is  unjustly  called  a  Unitarian 
as  he  held  the  Christian  faith,  common  to  this  early  age. 
His  history  comes  down  to  157.  He  was  followed  by  the 
great  and  good  Eusebius  who  saves  the  fragments  of  Hege- 
sippus, and  continues  the  history  down  to  324.  Eusebius 
is  called  an  Arian.  In  this  early  age  there  were  no  Cath- 
olics; and  of  course  no  Catholic  historians.  Their  Scrip- 
tures, Apostles,  "Fathers,"  and  Martyrs  were  all  of  them 
Christians.  The  Catholics  had  no  existence  till  the  fourth 
century;  therefore,  claim  no  historian  before  the  filth 
ccntur,y.  The  next  historian  was  Fhiloslorgius,  an  Arian, 
who  brought  the  history  down  to  420.  Then  we  have 
Socrates,  the  Novatian  lawyer,  who  wrote,  with  little 
learning  or  grace,  a  history  of  about  76  years,  from  324 
to  400.  Sozomen,  also  a  lawyer,  copied  Socrates,  and 
added  a  little  down  to  420.  Then  i'heodoret,  a  bishop  and 
a  Nestorian,  gave  his  opinion,  closing  about  421.  These 
four  heretics,  were  also  Catholics.  The  Catholic  Church 
being  built  up  by  politicians  accounts  for  its  first  historians 
being  lawyers.  In  536  Evagrius  was  born,  who  added  six 
chapters,  from  431  to  594.  None  of  these,  except  Theodoret, 
seem  to  have  been  converted  men. 


THE   RAPID   SPREAD   OP   THE    GOSPEL.  141 

The  N'eiv  Testament  Scriptures  yet  existed  in  rolls  of 
papyrus  or  parcliment,  with  the  Christian  churches  to 
which  they  were  written.  These  apparently  insignificant 
parchments  were  as  the  arm  of  God,  to  which  the  church 
clung ;  the  bosom  of  God  on  which  she  laid  her  weary 
head;  the  light  from  heaven  to  a  world  in  darkness;  the 
life  eternal  to  those  who  looked  upon  their  dead;  and  to 
all  they  spake  of  a  purer  life  and  an  endless  hope.  The 
world  was  perishing,  and  Christians  were  earnest  to  save 
the  perishing. 


THE    RAPID   SPREAD   OF   THE    GOSPEL. 

EuSEBius  says:  "It  can  not  be  conceived  within  how 
"short  a  period  the  Christian  doctrine,  under  the  glorious 
"  conduct  of  its  Author,  diffused  itself  over  the  face  of  the 
"  earth  by  the  mouths  of  his  evangelists  and  apostles. 
"  City  and  country  churches  were  everywhere  planted, 
"  and  the  Gentiles,  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  their  idolatry 
"and  superstition,  *  *  *  resigned  themselves  entirely  to 
"  the  service  of  their  Creator  and  the  religion  which  his 
"  Son  had  promulged.  Among  the  earliest  converts  of  this 
"  kind  were  Cornelius  of  Cesarea,  initiated  by  St.  Peter, 
"  and  a  large  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Antiocli."  II.   57. 

The  first  Gentile  Church  was  at  Antioch.  When  the 
disciples  were  scattered  by  the  persecution  about  Stephen, 
they  preached  the  gospel  in  Cyprus  and  Cyrene,  besides 
other  places,  to  "  none  but  Jews  only."  But  men  con- 
verted at  Cyprus  and  Cyrene  came  to  Antioch  and 
preached  to  the  Grecians  there.  The  Lord  revived  his 
work  in  a  powerful  manner  and  great  numbers  believed 
and  turned  to  the  Lord.  When  the  mother  church  at 
Jerusalem  heard  the  tidings,  it  sent  them  a  good  minister 
one  full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  very  many 
were  added  to  the  Lord.  This  preacher's  name  was 
Barnabas.  When  he  saw  the  grace  ot  God  he  rejoiced, 
and  exhorted  them  to  cleave  to  the  Lord  while  he  went  to 
Tarsus  and  brought  Paul,  who  taught  the  people  of  An- 
tioch a  whole   year.     Antioch  was    situated   on  the  river 


142  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Orontes,  about  twenty  miles  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 
It  was  the  third  city  in  the  world  in  importance,  once  the 
metropolis  of  Syria  and  of  all  the  East.  It  was  the  birth- 
place of  St.  Luke  and  of  his  friend  Theophilus,  and  the 
first  Gentile  city  to  send  alms  to  brethren  abroad.  Acts 
11 :  29.  In  this  church  the  revival  scarcely  abated  during 
the  primitive  age.  In  the  fourth  century  it  numbered 
"  one  hundred  thousand  communicants." 

Waddington  says  that  Antioch  was  without  doubt  the 
most  flourishing  church  for  several  generations  ;  until  in 
the  wide  spread  of  the  gospel  it  was  surpassed  by  the  in- 
creasing populousness  of  Alexandria  and  Rome. 

"  From  Syria  to  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  throughout 
"  the  rich  provinces  of  Asia  Minor,  Cilicia,  Phrygia,  Galatia, 
"  Pontus,  Bithynia,  and  along  the  whole  coast  of  the  JEgean 
"Sea,  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  were 
"  Christians,  and  we  tind  their  establishment  in  all  the 
"  leading  cities  of  Greece.  From  the  cities,  in  each  in- 
"  stance,  the  religion  was  silently  derived  and  distributed 
"among  the  surrounding  towns  and  villages  and  hamlets, 
"  purifying  morality,  and  infusing  hope;  and  happiness  ;  and 
"thus  every  church  was  surrounded  by  a  little  circle  of 
"  believers,  which  gradually  enlarged,  according  to  the 
"zeal  and  wisdom  which  animated  the  center. 

"  The  earliest  converts  were  to  be  found  chiefly  among 
"  the  middling  and  lower  classes,  which  will  account  as 
"  well  for  their  numbers  as  for  their  obscurity,  and  the 
"  little  mention  that  is  made  of  them  by  cotemporary 
"  writers. 

"The  devoted  zeal  of  the  primitive  missionaries,  the 
"  pure  and  austere  morals  of  their  converts,  and  the  union 
"  and  discipline  of  the  Church,  are  universally  admitted. 
"By  these  and  similar  considerations  we  are  led  to  believe, 
"that,  at  least  throughout  the  Eastern  provinces  of  the 
"  empire,  in  Syria,  Egypt,  Asia  Minor,  and  Greece,  a  re- 
"  spectable  proportion  of  the  people  were  Christians,  even 
"  before  the  end  of  the  second  century. 

"  The  great  number  of  councils  assembled  about  the 
"years  195  and  196,  on  the  controversy  about  Easter, 
"proves,  as  Tilleraont  (vol.  iii,  p.  114)  observes,  the  tran- 
"  quillity  of  the  church;  it  proves  also  its  prosperity;  and 
"  the   authority  of   TertuUian   has    persuaded  that  histo- 


THE   RAPID    SPREAD    OF   THE    GOSPEL.  143 

»'rian  that  the  Christians  formed  at  that  time  almost  the 
"majority  of  the  inhabitants^."     Wad.  p.  39. 

Most  prominent  among  the  first  churches  were  those 
of  Jerusalem,  Samaria,  Cesarea,  Antioch,  Damascus,  Berea, 
Ephesus,  Smyrna,  Pergamos,  Thyatira,  Sardis,  Laodicea, 
Philadelphia,  Cyprus,  Crete,  Thessalonica,  Colosse,  Phil- 
ippi,  Corinth,  Sparta,  Athens,  Rome  and  Alexandria. 

THE    DISCIPLES    CALLED    OF    GOD    CHRISTIANS. 

At  Antioch  the  guiding  spirit  of  the  Lord  first  built  up 
a  great  union  church  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  And  there 
the  disciples  received  their  heavenly  name,  being  called 
after  Christ,  their  glorious  Master,  Christians. 

The  Greek  {xQ-qnarioai)  chrematisai,  which  we  render 
were  (?<2//6f?  should  be  translated  were  called  of  God^  as  this 
is  the  true  meaning  of  xQW^'^'-^'^h  ^^  ^^  every  other  text  in 
the  New  Testament  it  has  the  signification  of  coming  from 
God. 

Matt.  1 :  12.     "  Warned  of  God." 

Matt.  2:  22.     "Warned  of  God." 

Luke  2:  26.     "Was  revealed"  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Acts  10:  22.     "AVarned  from  God." 

Rom.  7 :  1-3.  •'  Shall  be  called,"  that  is  by  God's  au- 
thority. 

Heb.  8:5.     "  Admonished  of  God."   . 

Heb.  12:  25.  "  Spake,"  the  divine  authority  prominent. 

Therefore  the  text  in  Acts  11 :  26  should  be  translated 
thus :  The  disciples  were  called  of  God  Christians  first  at 
Antioch. 

There  is  no  other  divine  name  peculiar  to  the  followers 
of  Christ.  Church,  is  eKKlrjaia,  in  the  original,  and  applied 
not  only  to  the  people  of  God,  but  to  the  wicked.  In 
Psalms  it  is  an  '■'■  eKtcXrjaia,  (congregation,)  of  evil  doers."  In 
Acts  19 :  32  it  is  an  U7ilawful  assemUtj^  or  mob,  crying 
"  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians !"  But  if  we  seek  the 
true  root  of  churchy  Kvpiaiiog,  kuriakos,  we  find  that  it  is 
never  applied  to  the   people  called  Christians,  but  only 


144  CHURCn   HISTORY. 

to  day,  and  talle.  1  Cor.  11  :  20.  Kev.  1 :  10.  The 
names  saints,  brethren,  friends,  .lisciples ;  or,  any  of  the 
legions  of  unscriptural  names,  have  in  them  nothing  that 
signifies  a  follower  of  Christ.  But  the  name  Christian  is 
sanctified,  because  given  of  God;  because,  being  derived 
from  Christen  honors  the  Savior;  because  it  is  doubly 
significant,  speaking  of  Christ  as  a  person  and  of  character; 
because  it  honors  the  Hebrew  office  of  Messiah,  though  by 
the  Greek  form  ;  because  it  is  a  name  of  union  loved  by 
all  the  followers  of  Christ;  because  it  is  hallowed  by  all 
the  early  martyrs  who  suffered  under  this  name  alone ;  be- 
cause under  it  the  church  in  the  primitive  splendor 
achieved  all  her  real  glory;  and  because  it  is  the  only 
name  which  all  can  love. 

The  preaching  of  the  first  Christians  was  earnest,  fer- 
vent and  direct;  partaking  nothing  of  the  nature  of  our 
modern  efforts,  truly  called  essays;  resembling  in  no  re. 
spect  our  repetitions  of  old  sermons  nor  our  textual  dis 
courses.  It  was  argumentative  and  pleading,  much  re- 
sembling what  we  now  term  exhortation.  There  was  no 
metaphysical  philosophizing  and  "  splitting  hairs."  but 
rather  reasoning  on  righteousness,  temperance  and  judg- 
ment to  come.  They  had  no  time  for  trifling.  The  forci- 
ble argument  was  their  best  rhetoric,  and  words  flowing 
from  a  feeling  heart  secured  the  best  elocution.  They 
spake  of  God  and  his  law ;  of  Christ  and  his  love ;  of  re- 
demption, the  resurrection,  and  life  eternal  to  dying  men. 
"When  they  spake  of  repentance  sinners  trembled.  To  a 
sin-sick  world  they  presented  the  great  Physician.  To 
man  condemned  they  pointed  out  the  dying  Lamb  who 
loved  us  and  gave  himself  for  us.  They  had  not  learned 
the  creative  theology;  the  science  and  art  of  manufactur- 
ing out  of  conflicting  parts  a  God,  a  Christ,  or  a  religion, 
and  then  preaching  the  creature  which  their  logic  had  just 
hewed  out.  They  preached  the  God  of  the  Bible  in  his 
unrivaled  glory,  and  the  Son  of  his  love  in  his  divme  beau- 
ty.   The  usual  topics  were   repentance,  faith,  confession, 


THE   RAPID   SPREAD   OF   THE    GOSPEL.  145 

prayer,  conversion,  obedience;  with  the  promise  of  par- 
don, the  Holy  Spirit,  salvation,  life  and  immortality.  They 
preached  the  necessity  of  charity  and  good  works,  as  flow- 
ing from  a  hearty  faith  in  Christ.  They  preached  Christ  in 
the  simplicity  ol  his  heavenly  character  and  of  a  crucilied 
but  triumphant  Redeemer.  They  preached  the  gospel  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven.  They  preached, 
believing  that  the  gospel  was  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
vation, and  they  found  it  so.  They  preached,  expecting 
thfe  people  to  be  converted  by  the  preaching,  and  they 
were  not  disappointed.  They  were  earnest,  fearless  and 
diligent.  They  confronted  the  priest  at  his  altar,  the 
philosopher  in  his  lyceum,  the  judge  at  his  bar,  the  king 
on  his  throne,  with  the  one  story,  "  Jesus  and  the  resur- 
rection." They  were  dying  men  with  a  message  from  a 
crucified  Christ  to  dying  men.  They  did  not  speculate 
about  experience,  or  preach  doubts  instead  of  faith.  They 
did  not  preach  a  doubtful  religion,  an  uncertain  pardon,  a 
limited  atonement,  or  restricted  grace ;  but  a  full  and 
complete  amnesty  and  salvation  to  all  who  would  come 
and  partake.  Conversions  were  immediate  effects  of  the 
preaching ;  and  confessions  followed  immediately  upon 
the  close  of  the  sermon.  If  water  were  near,  baptism 
promptly  followed;  but  faith  was  the"  door,"  and  by  it 
they  had  "  access"  into  the  grace  of  the  gospel.  Such  was 
the  ancient  order,  and  such  were  the  first  Christian  minis- 
ters, and  "  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them  and  a  great 
number  believed  and  turned  to  the  Lord." 

"  The  Christian  religion  spread  over  all  quarters  of  the 
"civilized  world,  'and  made  its  way'  under  the  divine 
"  protection  and  patronage,  by  the  strength  of  its  own 
"truth  and  sanctity,  not  only  through  all  the  provinces  of 
"  Greece,  but  among  those  of  the  barbarians  too."  Euse- 
"bius,  iv.  29. 

Authentic  histories  of  the  action  of  Christ  were  com- 
posed  in  the  Greek  language  at  a  considerable    distance 
from   Jerusalem    after   the  Gentile  converts  were   grown 
numerous.     The  public  highways  constructed  for  the  ar- 
10 


146  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

mies  opened  a  way  for  the  evangelists  from  Damascus  to 
Britain;  and  Gibbon  testifies  that  before  the  fourth  century 
"  the  faith  of  Christ  had  been  preached  in  every  province 
"and  in  all  the  great  cities  of  the  empire."  (i,  575.) 

'•There  exists  not,  said  Justin,  a  people,  whether  Greek 
"or  barbarian,  or  any  other  race  of  men,  by  whatsoever 
'^  appellation  or  manners  they  may  be  distinguished,  how- 
"  ever  ignorant  of  arts  or  agriculture,  whether  they  dwell 
"in  tents  or  wander  about  in  covered  wagons,  among 
"  whom  prayers  are  not  offered  up  in  the  name  of  a  cruci- 
"lied  Jesus,  to  the  Father  and  Creator  of  all  things." 
"(Gibbon,  i.  582.) 

"TertuUian  says  the  Christian  faith  had  penetrated  into 
"parts  of  Britain  inaccessible  to  the  Koman  arms." 

In  encountering  the  world,  the  illiterate  men  of  the 
primitive  church  were  everywhere  successful.  They  feared 
no  danger,  they  shunned  no  opposition,  they  anticipated 
no  failure.  Illiterate  men  at  Pentecost  spake  in  a  variety 
of  languages  to  men  to  whom  these  were  their  native 
tongues.  The  men  were  converted,  but  no  one  criticized 
the  accent  of  the  minister.  They  wrote  the  New  Testa- 
ment of  twenty-six  books.  Other  writings,  even  by  learned 
men,  as  Tacitus,  or  the  author  of  "  Recognitions,"  fall  into 
errors ;  errors  of  mistaking  fables  for  truth ;  faults  of 
chronology,  history,  manners,  customs,  morality  ;  but  the 
New  Testament  books  have  stood  the  test  of  ten  thousand 
critics.  The  Christian  ministers  feared  and  experienced 
no  failure.     They  preached  thus  : — • 

Christ  was  foretold  by  the  prophets. 

His  prophecies  were  fulfilled. 

He  wrought  many  miracles. 

He  gave  his  disciples  like  power. 

Christ  never  erred. 

His  religion  was  plain,  full,  pure  and  holy. 

He  illustrated  it  by  parables,  or  statements  of  current 
facts,  universally  admitted. 

The  ministers  warred  on  all  vice,  and  there  was  no 
virtue  which. they  did  not  advocate.  The  hope  of  the  gos- 
pel appealed  to  the  universal  heart  of  suiFering  humanity. 


BAPTISM.  147 

The  whole  world  was  sick,  weary,  lost,  despairing;  and 
the  gospel  brought  a  physician,  rest,  salvation  and  immor- 
tality. Four  things  insured  success  :  the  truth  of  their 
message;  the  Holy  Spirit's  influence;  their  power  to  work 
miracles  ;  their  own  strong  faith  and  fervor. 

BAPTISM. 

Eusebius  says:  "  Herod  the  younger  beheaded  John, 
'•a  person  of  singular  sanctity  (as  Josephus  remarks), 
*'  surnamed  the  Baptist,  from  his  instituting  a  certain  bap- 
"  tism  or  washing,  which  he  proposed,  not  merely  for  the 
"cleansing  of  the  body,  but  required  that  the  hearts  and 
"  minds  of  those  who  came  to  it  should  be  antecedently 
''  purified," 

Irenaeus,  A,  D.  178,  said:  "Our  bodies  through  baptism, 
"  but  our  souls  through  the  Spirit,  have  obtained  that 
"  communion."     Nean,  i.  646. 

TertuUian,  A.  D.  104,  said:  "It  is  faith  which  in  bap- 
"tism  obtains  forgiveness  of  sins:"  '  true  faith,  wherever 
"present,  is  sure  of  salvation."     Nean.  i.  646. 

Justin  Martyr,  A,  D.  140,  said :  "  What  is  the  benefit 
"  of  that  baptism  which  makes  bright  the  body  only  ? 
"  Be  immersed  as  to  the  soul  from  anger,"  etc. 

Cyprian,  A.  D.  258,  said:  "Outward  baptism,  consider- 
"  ed  as  to  its  highest  end,  is  a  symbol  of  the  inward  cleans- 
"ing."   Nean.  i.  646. 

Origen,  A.  D.  200,  said:  "Baptism,  considered  as  to  its 
"  true  end,  is  a  symbol  of  the  inward  cleansing."  Nean. 
i.  648. 

"  Bringing  their  pagan  notions  over  with  them  into 
"Christianity,  they  were  seeking  in  baptism  a  magical 
"  lustration  which  could  render  them  at  once  wholly  pure." 
Nean.  i.  2.52. 

The  first  departure  from  the  form  of  baptism  of  which 
we  read  is  in  Eusebius,  who  says  of  Novatian,  that  he  as- 
sumed  "  the  character  of  a  metropolitan  (bishop)  before  he 
"  had  indeed  been  baptized  in  the  manner  prescribed  by 
"the  church;  for  though  in  a  fit  of  sickness  he  had  re- 
"  ceived  the  sacramental  washing,  aspersion,  at  the  hands 
«  of  the  priest,"  etc.  vi.  115. 


H8  CHURCH  HISTORY. 

The  form  of  baptism  appears  in  Tertullian's  words, 
"  dipped  ill  water." 

"  In  respect  to  the  form  of  baptism,  it  was  in  con- 
"formity  with  the  original  institution  and  the  original  im- 
"  port  of  the  symbol,  performed  by  immersion,  as  a  sign  of 
"  entire  baptism  into  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  being  entirely 
"  penetrated  by  the  same.  It  was  only  with  the  sick, 
"  where  the  exigency  required  it,  that  any  exception  was 
"  made ;  and  in  this  case  baptism  was  administered  by 
"sprinkling.  Many  superstitious  persons,  clinging  to  the 
"outward  form,  imagined  that  such  baptism  by  sj)rinkling 
"  was  not  fully  valid  ;  and  hence  they  distinguished  those 
"who  had  been  baptized  by  denominating  them  the 
"  clinici. 

"Baptism  was  administered  at  first  only  to  adults,  as 
"men  were  accustomed  to  conceive  baptism  and  faith  as 
"  strictl}''  connected.  We  have  all  reasony'or  not  deriving 
"infant  baptism  from  apostolic  institution,  and  the  recogni- 
"  tion  of  it  which  followed  somewhat  later,  as  an  apostolical 
"  tradition,  serves  to  confirm  this  hypothesis.  Irenaeus  is 
"  the  first  church  teacher  in  whom  we  find  any  allusion  to 
"  infant  baptism,  and  in  his  mode  of  expressing  himself  on 
"  the  subject,  he  leads  us  at  the  same  time  to  recognize 
"its  connection  with  the  essence  of  the  Christian  con- 
"  sciousness ;  he  testifies  of  the  profound  idea,  out  of 
"  which  infant  baptism  arose,  and  which  procured  for  it 
"at  length  universal  recognition. 

"  But  immediately  after  Irenasus,  in  the  last  years  of 
"  the  second  century,  Tertullian  appears  as  a  zealous  op- 
"  ponent  of  infant  baptism  ;  a  proof  that  the  practice  had 
"  not  as  yet  come  to  be  regarded  as  an  apostolical  institu- 
"  tion ;  for  otherwise,  he  would  hardly  have  ventured  to 
"express  himself  so  strongly  against  it.  We  perceive 
"  from  his  argument  against  infant  baptism,  that  its  advo- 
"  cates  already  appealed  to  Matt.  19  :  14,  a  passage  which 
"  it  would  be  natural  for  every  one  to  apply  in  this  man- 
"  ner.  '  Our  Lord  rebuked  not  the  little  children  but  com- 
"  manded  them  to  be  brought  to  him  that  he  might  bless 
"  them.'  Tertullian  advises,  that  in  consideration  of  the 
"  great  importance  of  the  transaction,  and  of  the  i^repara- 
*•  tion  necessary  to  be  made  for  it  on  the  part  of  the  recij^i- 
"  ents,  baptism,  as  a  general  thing,  should  rather  be  de- 
''layed  than  prematurely  applied,  and  he  takes  this  occa- 


BAPTISM.  149 

«sion  to  declares  himself  particularly  opposed  to  haste  in 
"the  baptism  of  children.  In  answer  to  the  objection 
"  drawn  from  those  words  of  Christ,  he  replies  :  '  Let  them 
"come,  while  they  are  growing  up;  let  them  come  while 
"  they  are  learning,  while  they  are  being  taught  to  what 
"it  is  they  are  coming;  let  them  become  Christians,  when 
"  they  are  susceptible  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ.  What 
"haste,  to  procure  the  forgiveness  of  sins  for  the  age  of 
"  innocence  !  We  show  more  prudence  in  the  manage- 
"ment  of  our  worldly  concerns,  than  we  do  in  intrusting 
"  the  divine  treasure  to  those  who  can  not  be  intrusted 
"  witli  earthly  property.  Let  them  first  learn  to  feel  their 
"need  of  salvation;  so  it  may  appear  that  we  have  given 
"  to  those  that  wanted.'  Tertullian  evidently  means,  that 
"children  should  be  led  to  Christ  by  instructing  them  in 
"  Christianity;  but  that  they  should  not  receive  baptism, 
"until,  after  having  been  sufficiently  instructed,  they  are 
"  led  from  personal  conviction  and  by  their  own  free  choice, 
"  to  seek  for  it  with  sincere  longing  of  the  heart.  It  may 
"  be  said,  indeed,  that  he  is  only  speaking  of  the  course  to 
"be  followed  according  to  the  general  rule;  whenever 
"  there  was  momentary  danger  of  death,  baptism  might  bo 
"  administered,  even  according  to  his  views.  But  if  he  had 
"  considered  this  to  be  so  necessary,  he  could  not  have  failed 
"  to  mention  it  expressly.  It  seems,  in  fact,  according  to 
"  the  principles  laid  down  by  him,  that  he  could  not  con- 
"ceive  of  anij  efficacy  whatever  residing  in  baptism,  with- 
"  out  the  conscious  participation  and  individual  faith  of 
"the  person  baptized:  nor  could  he  see  any  danger  ac- 
"  cruing  to  the  age  of  innocence  from  delaying  it;  al- 
"  though  this  view  of  the  matter  was  not  logically  consist- 
"  ent  with  his  own  system."     Nean.  i.  310-312, 

Neander  speaking  of  the  early  part  of  the  second  cen- 
tury says:  "In  this  period,  when  the  baptism  of  infants 
"  was  not  practiced."     i.  461. 

The  change  thus  taking  place  in  baptism  may  be  marked 
by  the  reader  in  the  following  extracts  from  Mosheim,  who 
was  himself  a  Pedobaptist : 

First  Century.  '■'•Baptism  was  administered  in  this 
"  century  by  an  immersion  of  the  whole  body  in  the  bap- 
"  tismal  font."     Mosh.  i.  46. 

Second  Cent.  ^^  Bnj>tism  was  administered  publicly 
"  twice  every  year,  at  the  festivals  of  Easter  and  Pentecost. 


150  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"The  persons  to  be  baptized  repeated  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
"confessed  and  renounced  their  sins,  etc.,  and  were  im- 
"mersed  under  the  water."  Mosh.  i.  69. 

Third  Cent.  "  Baptisms  were  continued  twice  a  year : 
"but  now  the  candidates  had  to  endure  a  long  course  of 
"  trial,  and  preparation,  and  the  ceremony  was  performed 
"only  in  the  presence  of  the  initiated,  and  the  remission 
"  of  sins  was  thought  to  be  the  immediate  happy  fruit,  and 
"  the  candidates  returned  home  arrayed  in  white  garments, 
"  and  adorned  with  white  crowns."  Mosh.  i.  91. 

Fourth  Cent.  "  Baptismal  fonts  were  now  erected  in 
"  the  porch  of  each  church  and  ceremonies  were  multi- 
"  plied."     Ibid.  i.  121. 

Change  to  sprinkling.  "  Immersion  was  so  customary 
"  in  the  ancient  church,  that  the  baptism  of  the  sick  who 
"were  merely  sprinkled,  was  entirely  neglected  by  some, 
"  and  by  others  was  thought  to  be  inferior  to  the  baptism 
"  of  those  bathed  in  water."  The  Roman  bishop,  Cornelius, 
said  to  Cyprian  :  "Novatian  received  baptism  on  a  sick  bed, 
"by  aspersion,  if  it  can  be  said  that  such  a  person  received 
"baptism,"  for,  "No  person  who  had  during  sickness  been 
i' baptized  by  aspersion  was  admitted  to  the  clerical  office." 
Epis.  Cyp.  69.  Bib.  Theo.  Storr  &  Flatt  by  Schmucker 
513. 

Cyprian,  bishop  of  Carthage,  decided,  "  that  those 
"  whose  loeah  state  of  health  did  7iot  permit  them  to  be 
"  washed  in  water,  were  yet  sufficiently  baptized  by  being 
"  sprinkled,  as  the  virtue  of  baptism  ought  not  to  be  esti- 
"  mated,  in  a  carnal  manner,  by  the  quantity  of  external 
"apparatus."     Milner  i.  211. 

lord's  supper. 

"Ordinary,  or  common  bread,  was  used  for  the  Lord's 
"Supper.  The  only  exception  is  with  those  Judaizing 
"  Christians  who  celebrated  the  Supper  only  once  a  year 
"  in  memory  of  the  Passover.  Hence,  they  used  unleav- 
"  ened  bread." 

"  In  some  of  the  churches,  the  daily  enjoyment  of 
«  communion  continued  to  be  held  necessary,  since  it  was 
"considered   the   daily  bond  of  union  between  the  Lord 


SABBATH.  151 

«  and  the  church.     Thus  TertuUian  and  Cyprian  interpret- 
«  ed  the  Lord's  Prayer."  * 

There  is  no  New  Testament  rule  for  communing  every 
first  day.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  the  apostolic  church  limit- 
ed the  communion  to  any  set  day,  any  more  than  prayer. 

Thursday  night  was  the  time  at  first  instituted,  and  if 
a  periodical  ordinance  of  any  particular  unchanging  time, 
Thursday  night  would  be  the  time.  As  oft  as  ye  do  it,  is 
the  only  scriptural  authority  for  time.  Acts  2:  45  inti- 
mates its  daily  observance.  History  says,  first :  "  Judaiz- 
"  ing  Christians  celebrated  the  Supper  in  remembrance  of 
"  the  last  Supper  of  Christ  but  once  in  the  year."  It  is 
quite  probable  that  the  Judaizing  Christians  understood 
the  time  as  well  as  the  pagan  converts  from  the  heathen- 
"  The  North  African  Church  celebrated  it  daily." 

"  At  Antioch  the  communion  was  celebrated  on  Friday 
"  as  well  as  Sunday."  "  At  Constantinople  on  Friday  *  * 
"the  Supper  was  distributed."  "On  Thursday  great  num- 
"  bers  commemorated  the  last  Supper."  "  In  the  Roman, 
"the  Spanish,  and  Alexandrian  churches  daily  communion 
"  was  practiced."  "Many,"  says  Chrysostom,  "partake  of 
"  the  sacrament  once  in  the  year  ;  others  twice,"  "  others 
*'once  in  two  years."  Some  "partake  of  the  sacrament. 
"•  by  the  way."  When  it  was  not  celebrated  daily,  some 
took  the  bread  home  for  daily  use.  No  time  was  fixed  by 
church  teachers.  Nean.  i.  325,  331,  332,  648  ;  ii.  297,  305, 
328,  329. 

SABBATH. 

The  word  signifies  rest.  It  was  ordained  at  first  in  Eden 
for  all  our  race.     Therefore  it  is  not  Jewish  but  heavenly. 

Cause  of  the  change  to  Sundaij.  "The  desire  of  dis- 
"tinguishing  the  Christian  from  the  Jewish  observance 
"early  gave  rise  to  the  celebration  of  Sunday."  Nean- 
der  observes,  "the  celebration  of  Sunday  was  always  like 
"that  of  every  festival,  a  human  institution;  far  was  it 
"  from  the  apostles  to  treat  it  as  a  divine  command." 


152  CHURCH   HISTORY.' 

g  Many  suppose  that  they  must  denominate  first  day  of 
the  week  the  "  LorcVs  day ;"  but  we  have  no  certain  Scrip- 
ture for  this.  The  phrase  "  Lord's  day,"  occurs  but  once 
in  the  Bible  :  "  I  was  in  the  spirit  on  the  Lord's  daxj^''  and 
there  probably  refers  to  the  day  of  which  Christ  said  :  "  the 
"Son  of  man  is  Lord  even  of  the  Sabbath  day,"  as  the 
whole  book  of  Revelation  has  a  strong  Jewish  bearing. 

The  Jewish  Christian  communities  continued  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Sabbath,  though  they  observed  that  of  Sun- 
day. In  821  Constantino  made  a  law  that  Sunday  should 
be  kept  in  all  cities  and  towns ;  but  the  country  people 
were  allowed  to  work;  and  not  till  538  was  country  labor 
prohibited  by  the  Council  of  Orleans,  which  called  it  "the 
new  Sabbath."    (Encyc,  Americana.) 

The  first  day  of  the  week  is  called  "Lord's  day  "  in  Eu- 
sebius,  where  he  says,  "  the  Asiatic  churches  celebrated 
Easter  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  moon's  age ;  but  other 
churches  on  the  Lord's  day."     v.  98. 

"The  first  Christians  were  unanimous  in  setting  apart 
"the  first  day  of  the  week,  as  being  that  on  which  our 
"Savior  rose  from  the  dead,  for  the  solemn  celebration  of 
"  public  worship." 

In  the  Catholic  Epistle  ascribed  to  Barnabas,  Sunday  is 
designated  as  the  day  of  jubilee,  in  remembrance  of  the 
resurrection,  etc. 

"In  the  Epistle  of  Ignatius"  [if  genuine,  N.  S.]  "it  is 
"presupposed  that  even  the  Jews  who  came  over  to  Chris- 
"  tianity,  substituted  Sunday  for  the  Sabbath.  From  Ter- 
"  tullian  applying  the  law  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  to  Sun- 
"  day,  we  gather  that  he  considered  labor  on  that  day  as 
"sinful.  It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  the  Jewish 
"Christians  did  not  cease  the  observance  of  the  seventh 
"  dav  altogether  for  that  of  the  first,  but  respected  both." 
SeeNeander  i.  295,  296. 

Barnabas  said:  "We  keep  the  eighth  day  as  a  joyful 
"  day  ;  on  which  day  also  Jesus  rose  from  the  dead."  Ma- 
han's  Mor.  Philosophy,  p.  256. 

Justin  Martyr,  in  his  Apology  to  Antoninus,  A.  D.  147, 
says:  "On  the  day  called  Sunday  there  is  a  meeting  in  one 
"place  of  all  Christians  who  live  either  in  the  towns  or  in 


MIRACLES.  153 

"the  country,  and  the  memoirs  of  the  apostles  or  the  wn- 
"  tings  of  the  prophets  are  read  to  them  as  long  as  is  suit- 
■'  able.  Then  the  reader  stops,  the  president  announces 
"the  admonition,"  etc.  "We  all  meet  together  on  the 
"Sunday  because  it  is  the  first  day,  on  which  God  turned 
"  darkness  into  light,  gave  shape  to  chaos,  amd  made  the 
"  world,  and  on  the  same  day  Jesus  Christ  our  Savior  rose 
"from  the  dead." 

This  proves,  at  least,  that  Sunday  was  then  known  as 
*  the  Lord's  day." 

Socrates  mentions  (p.  187)  that  Constajitine  command- 
ed "Friday  as  a  fast,  and  Sunday  as  a  festival." 

Reeves  ("  Catholic"),  quotes  Justin,  A.  D.  150:  "For 
"no  other  than  a  religious  purpose  do  we  meet  upon  the 
"  Sunday.  We  meet  to  worship  God  our  Creator,  the 
"sovereign  Ruler  of  the  universe;  we  meet  to  hear  the 
"  word  of  God;  we  meet  to  offer  up  to  God,  and  to  partake 
"of  the  Eucharist,  which  is  the  true  body  and  blood  of 
"Jesus  Christ  the  incarnate,  under  the  form  of  bread  and 
"  wine." 

"  The  blessed  Redeemer  had  arisen  from  the  dead  upon 
"  a  Sunday.  In  memory  of  that  glorious  mystery  the  Jew- 
"ish  Sabbath  had  been  altered  from  Saturday  till  Sunday, 
"  by  ecclesiastical  authority ;  after  which  it  seemed  absurd 
"to  celebrate  the  feast  of  the  resurrection  on  any  other 
"  day  than  a  Sundtiy  "     Nean.  i.  51. 

The  following  from  Ignatius  (A.  D.  107),  is  doubtless 
an  interpolation  : 

"  If  then  they  have  indeed  cast  off  their  old  principles, 
"and  are  come  to  a  new  hope  in  Christ,  let  them  no  lon- 
"ger  observe  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  but  live  according  to 
"  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord."     Mihier  i.  94. 

The  spirit  of  Ignatius  could  not  dictate,  and  his  hand 
could  not  write  such  a  sentence. 

Webster  says  :  "  The  Christian  Cliurch  early  began  and 
"  still  continues  to  observe  the  first  day  of  the  week." 

MIRACLES. 

Various  gifts  continued  in  the  church  during  this  peri 
od,  but  declined  toward    the    end   of  the    third    century. 
Quadratus,  who  wrote  an  apology  for  the  Christians,  A.  D. 


154  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

124,  says  that  there  were  persons  yet  alive  whom  Christ 
had  healed.  (Jor,  i.  250.)  It  is  quite  probable  that  these 
were  healed  of  bodily  disease,  and  their  life  was  thus  pro- 
longed. Jortin  thinks  "  there  is  reason  to  think  some  mir- 
"acles  were  yet  performed"  (A.  D.  107;  i.  285),  and  that 
we  should  not  deny  them  all  down  to  the  time  of  Constan- 
tino. He  says,  "  I  would  not  engage  for  the  truth  of  any 
"  of  them  after  A.  D.  107,"  and  after  this  he  desires  to  be 
ranked  not  with  deniers,  but  doubters,     (p.  286.) 

Eusebius    says :     "  Even   the   Divine  Spirit  performed 
'  many  miracles."     p.  284. 

Irengenus,  A.  D.  120,  says  :  "The  dead  were  raised  and 
"remained  alive  some  years.'      Jor.  i.  p.  264. 

"Evil  spirits  were  cast  out  of  pagans  so  as  to  return 
"no  more."  (Jor.  i.  366.)  "  Some  have  imagined  that  all 
"  Christians ;  but,  only  true  Christians  have  this  power." 
Jor.  i.  367. 

MUSIC. 

The  first  grand  choral  was  sounded  when  "  the  morning 
''stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for 
"joy-"'  Music  has  ever  been  an  important  part  of  divine 
worship.  Angels  around  the  throne  strike  their  harps  and 
golden  viols  in  praise  to  God  and  the  Lamb.  Moses  and 
Miriam  led  in  the  first  recorded  songs  of  olden  times, 
and  David  touched  the  chords  which  vibrate  forever  in  the 
world's  heart.  At  the  birth  of  the  Savior  angels  are  sup- 
posed to  have  sung  the  glad  news,  "Glory  to  God  in  the 
"  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men :  for 
"  unto  you  is  born  a  Savior  which  is  Christ."  We  read  of 
Jesus  and  his  disciples,  that  after  the  Supper  they  sung  a 
hymn.  Pliny,  the  learned  pagan,  in  less  than  a  hundred 
years  after  describes  Christian  worship,  saying,  "  Christians 
"assemble  before  day  lo  off"er  praise  to  Christ  as  a  deity." 
"Every  one,"  says  Tertullian,  ''united  in  the  public  wor- 
"  ship  to  sing  unto  God."  Justin  says,  "we  manifest  our 
gratitude  *  *  *  in  spiritual  songs  and  hymns."  Eusebius 
says,  "how  many  songs  and  odes  of  the  brethren,  written 
"  from  the  beginning,  which  oifer  praise  to  Christ  as  the 


UNITY.  155 

"word  of  God."  This  accords  well  with  the  apostolical 
couilsel,  "when  ye  come  together,  each  one  of  you  has  a 
"psalm.  *  *  *  I  will  sing  with  the  spirit  and  with  the 
"  understanding.''  "  He  that  is  merry,  let  him  sing."  At 
no  time  does  the  church  on  earth  resemble  that  in  heaven 
more  than  when  "  singing  the  songs  of  Zion."  The  praise 
lifted  up  alone  to  God  in  the  synagogue,  in  the  church,  in- 
cludes him  who  "  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
"  God."  With  angels  they  worshiped  (lod  and  the  Lamb, 
and  sing  heavenly  doxologies  of  blessmg,  and  glory,  and 
honor  to  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne  and  to  the  Lamb, 
saying,  "  Great  and  marvelous  are  thy  works,  Lord  God 
"Almighty;  just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou  King  of  saints." 
Thus  also  flie  Christians  worshijjed.  They  sung  praise  to 
God,  is  the  united  testimony ;  and  they  sing  praise  to 
Christ  as  a  deity,  says  the  observing  Pliny.  Clement  of 
Alexandria  is  the  oldest  Christian  poet  known.  His  hymns 
are  poetic  narrations  of  the  facts  of  the  gospel.  He  wrote : 
"  We  hymn  in  simplicity  the  Mighty  Child  ;"  "  The  Chorus 
of  Peace;"  "The  Kindred  of  Christ;"  "The  Eace  of  the 
Temperate  ;"  "  We  will  praise  together  the  God  of  Peace." 

UNITV. 

Lucian,  the  witty  Pagan  says:  "These  poor  creatures 
"(the  Christians)  are  firmly  persuaded  they  shall  one  day 
"  enjoy  eternal  life  ;  therefore  they  despise  death  with 
"  wonderful  courage,  and  ofter  themselves  voluntarily  to 
"  punishment.  Their  lirst  lawgiver  has  taught  them  that 
"  they  are  all  brethren  when  once  they  have  passed  over, 
"  and  renounced  the  gods  of  the  Greeks,  and  worship  that 
"  master  of  theirs  wlio  was  crucified,  and  regulate  their 
"  conduct  by  his  laws.  If  any  juggler  or  cunning  fellow, 
"  wiio  knows  how  to  take  advantage  of  the  oi:>portunity, 
"happens  to  get  into  their  society,  he  immediately  grows 
"  rich  ;  because  it  is  easy  to  abuse  the  simplicity  of  these 
"silly  people."     Wad.  Ch.  His.  48. 

PUBLIC    SPORTS. 

"When  one  goes   to  the  play  one    thinks  of  nothing 
"else  than  to  see,  and  to  be  seen.     Can  we  while  listening 


156  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

"to  the  declamation  of  an  actor,  think  on  the  sentence  of 
"  a  prophet,  or,  amidst  the  song  of  an  effeminate  stage 
"player,  meditate  on  a  psalm?  If  every  immodesty  is 
"abominable  to  us,  how  should  we  allow  ourselves  to  hear 
"  what  we  can  not  feel  at  liberty  to  speak?  He  who  con- 
"demns  everything  in  the  shape  of  hypocrisy,  can  not 
"look  with  complacency  on  him  who  dissimulates  voice, 
"  sex,  age,  love,  anger,  hate,  sighs  or  tears."  Tertullian — 
Nean.  i.  265. 

In  the  second  century,  a  Christian  woman,  having  at- 
tended the  theater,  was  afterward  afflicted  with  an  evil 
spirit,  a  "devil."  The  exorcist  demanded,  "how  he  had 
"the  assurance  to  enter  into  a  Christian  V  "Why  not?"  ex- 
claimed the  demon ;  "  I  found  her  at  my  own  house." 
Jor.  i.  271.  • 

"  The  Christian,  who  with  pious  horror  avoided  the 
"abominations  of  the  circus,  or  the  theater,  found  himself 
"  encompassed  v/itli  infernal  snares  at  every  convivial  en- 
''  tertainment."     Gibbon  i.  524. 

WAR,    POLITICS,    GOVERNMENT,  ETC. 

Tertullian  says:  "Thou  art  bound  as  a  Christian  to 
"follow  the  Lord's  example.  If  he  exercised  his  right  of 
"  authority  over  none,  not  even  his  own  disciples,  and  re- 
"  fused  to  become  a  king,  he  gave  his  disciples  the  most 
"  perfect  example  to  shun  all  that  is  lofty  or  great  in 
"  earthly  power  and  dignity."    Nean.  i.  271. 

"  We  are  dead  to  all  ideas  of  worldly  honor  and  dignity. 
"Nothing  is  more  foreign  to  us  than  political  concern. 
"The  whole  world  is  our  republic — we  are  a  body  united 
"in  one  bond  of  religion,  discipline  and  hope."  Milner 
i.  144. 

MARRIAGE. 

Clement  gives  an  account  of  those  apostles  who  con- 
tinued in  the  marriage  state,  on  account  of  those  who  set 
marriage  aside.  Said  he:  "Will  they  reject  even  the  apos- 
"tles  ?  Peter  and  Philip  indeed  had  children.  Philip  also 
"  gave  his  daughters  in  marriage.  Paul  does  not  demur 
"in  a  certain  epistle  to  mention  his  own  wife,  whom  he 
"did  not  take  about  with  him,  in  order  to  expedite  his 
"ministry  the   better.     The  blessed  Peter  seeing  his  own 


NOT   CONFORMED  TO   THE   WORLD   IN   MORALITY.  157 

"  wife  led  to  execution,  was  delighted  on  account  of  her, 
"  and  he  cried  to  her  to  remember  the  Lord."  8ee  Euse- 
bius,  Ecc. 

Clement  of  Alexandria  says  :  "The  genuine  Christian 
"  has  the  apostles  for  his  example  ;  and,  in  truth,  it  is  not 
"in  the  solitary  one  shows  himself  a  man — but  he  gets  the 
"victory  over  other  men  who,  as  a  husband  and  father  of  a 
"family,  withstands  all  the  temptations  which  assail  him 
"  in  providing  for  wife  and  children,  etc.  The  man  with 
"  no  family  escapes  many  temptations — but,  as  he  has 
"  none  save  himself  to  care  for,  he  is  of  less  worth  than  the 
"  man  who  has  more  to  disturb  him,  it  is  true,  in  the  work 
"  of  his  own  salvation ;  but  accomplishes  more  in  the  so- 
"cial  life,  and,  in  truth,  presents  in  his  own  case  a  minia- 
"  ture  of  Providence  itself."     Nean.  i.  281. 

NOT  CONFORMED  TO  THE  WORLD  IN    MORALITY. 

"Neither  do  Christians  in  Parthia  indulge  in  polygamy, 
"though  they  be  Parthians  ;  nor  do  they  marry  their  own 
"daughters  in  Persia,  though  they  be  Persians.  Among 
"  the  Bactrians  and  the  Gauls,  they  do  not  commit  adultery  ; 
"  but  wheresoever  they  are,  they  arise  above  the  evil  laws 
"  and  customs  of  tlie  country."  See  Bardesanes,  a  learned 
Christian  of  Mesopotamia.     Wad.  47. 

CHARITY. 

Charity  was  the  corner-stone  of  the  moral  edifice  oi 
Christianity,  and  its  earliest  characteristic  ;  and  this  is 
still  the  chief  grace,  without  which  there  may  be  forms  and 
ordinances  and  professions,  but  yet  they  are  all  the  labor 
lost,  of  foolish  virgins  without  oil,  and  foolish  men  build- 
ing on  the  sand.  Without  charity  religion  is  a  casket 
without  its  jewel,  the  body  without  the   spirit. 

LIBERTY. 

The  independence  of  the  Christians  was  confined  to  the 
first  age  of  the  church,  closing  with  the  fourth  century. 
From  the  beginning  they  had  existed  not  as  a  consolidated 
body  acting  under  one  earthly  head;  but  as  independent 


158  CBURCH   HISTORY. 

congregations  a  Christian  republic  ;  a  kingdom  of  heaven; 
for  their  only  king,  and  lawgiver  was  Jesus  in  heaven, 
and  all  their  laws,  their  discipline  and  doctrine  were  from 
heaven.  This  gave  them  the  largest  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence of  each  other;  but  bound  them  by  the  greatest 
obligations  to  their  heavenly  king ;  whose  law  was  a 
"  perfect  law  of  liberty."  Jesus  even  commanded  them, 
saying  "  call  no  man  master  or  father ;  and  exercise  not 
lordship  over  each  other  as  the  Gentiles." 

Honesty.  The  Christians  were  celebrated  for  their 
honesty.  Justin  says:  "Tribute  and  customs  we  seek 
uniformly,  before  all  others,  to  pay  over  to  your  appointed 
officers,  as  we  have  been  taught  to  do  by  our  Master.  Matt. 
22  :  21.  Therefore  we  pray  to  God  alone  ;  but  you  we 
cheerfully  serve  in  all  other  things,  since  we  acknowl- 
edge you  as  rulers  of  men."  Tertullian  said  what  the 
government  lost  in  its  revenue  from  the  temples,  was 
made  up  through  the  honesty  of  the  Christians  in  paying 
tribute.  This  honesty  prevented  their  following  any 
unnecessary  or  immoral  occupation.  "Whoever  follow- 
ed a  trade  or  occupation  which  was  contrary  to  the  gen- 
erally received  Christian  principles,  was  not  admitted  to 
baptism,  till  he  had  pledged  himself  to  lay  it  aside.  He 
must  enter  on  some  new  occupation  to  earn  the  means  of 
subsistence  ;  or  if  not  in  a  situation  to  do  this,  he  was  re- 
ceived into  the  number  of  the  poor  maintained  by  the 
church.  To  these  occupations  were  reckoned  all  that 
stood  in  any  way  connected  with  idolatry,  or  which  were 
calculated  to  promote  it;  those,  for  instance,  of  the  artists 
and  handicraftsmen  who  employed  themselves  in  making 
or  adorning  images  of  the  gods.  There  were  doubtless 
many,  who,  wishing  to  pursue  these  trades  for  a  sub- 
sistence, excused  themselves  on  the  ground,  that  they 
did  not  worship  the  idols,  that  they  did  not  consider 
them  as  objects  of  religion,  but  simply  as  objects  of 
art ;  though,  in  these  times,  it  assuredly  argued  a  pecu- 
liar coldness  of  religious  feeling,  to  distinguish  thus  what 
belonged  to  art  and  what  belonged  to  religion.     Against 


MORALITY.  "  159 

such  excuses  Tertullian  exclaimed  with  pious  warmth, 
"  Assuredly  you  are  a  worshiper  of  idols,  when  you  help 
to  promote  their  worship.  It  is  true,  you  bring  to  them 
no  outward  victim ;  but  you  sacrifice  to  them  your  mind ; 
your  sweat  is  their  drink-olFering, — you  kindle  for  them  the 
light  of  your  skill."     Nean.  i.  262. 

Amusements.  Says  Tertullian  :  "  If  you  cast  your  eye  on 
"  the  cities,  you  behold  an  assembly  of  men,  presenting  a 
"more  melancholy  sight  than  my  solitude.  A  combat  of 
"gladiators  is  in  preparation,  that  blood  may  appease  the 
"  lust  of  cruel  eyes.  A  man  is  killed  for  the  amusement  of 
"his  fellow  men;  murder  is  turned  into  an  art,  and  crime 
"not  only  perpetrated,  but  taught  as  a  profession.  "It  is 
"well,  that  criminals  should  be  punished;  as  who  else  than 
"  a  criminal  can  deny  ?  And  yet  no  innoceut  man  can  find 
"pleasure  in  witnessing  his  neighbor's  punishment;  it  be- 
"  hooves  him  rather  to  grieve,  when  a  man,  his  fellow,  has 
"  become  so  guilty  as  to  subject  himself  to  so  cruel  a  death. 
"But  who  is  my  voucher,  that  it  is  always  the  guilty  who 
"  are  thrown  to  the  wild  beasts,  or  condemned  to  other 
"kinds  of  death;  that  innocence  also  does  not  sometimes 
"meet  with  the  same  fate,  through  revenge  on  the  part  of 
'•the  judge,  weakness  in  the  advocate,  or  the  force  of  tor- 
"ture  ?  The  gladiators  at  least,  as  you  must  allow,  come  to 
"the  combat,  not  as  criminals,  but  as  an  offering  to  the 
"public  pleasure.  And  however  the  case  may  be  with 
"  those  who  are  condemned  to  the  gladiatorial  combats,  yet 
"  consider  what  is  this — that  punishment,  whose  tendency 
"  should  be  to  reform  those  who  are  guilty  of  minor  offenses, 
"should  tend  in  fact  to  make  them  murderers?" 

Morality.  "The  purity  from  vice,  of  the  primitive 
"  church,  is  the  subject  to  which  we  proceed  with  high 
"  confidence  and  unalloyed  satisfaction — 'for  since,  in  the 
"various  history  on  which  we  are  entering,  our  admiration 
"of  the  excellence  of  Christianity  will  be  sometimes  in- 
"  terrupted  by  signs  of  the  degeneracy  of  its  professors,  it 
"is  delightful  to  pause  on  that:  period  when  the  faith,  yet 
"fresh  from  heaven,  did  really  carry  practice  and  devotion 
"  along  with  it — a  period  which  preceded  the  birth  of  in- 
"testine  persecution,  and  was  unstained  by  the  furious 
"  contest  of  sectaries  ;  which  did  not  witness  the  supersti- 
"  tious  debasement  of  the  church,  or  the  vulgar  vices  of 
"  its  ministers,  or  the  burning  passions  of  its  rulers.     We 


160  '         CUURCH   HISTORY. 

"are  taught,  indeed,  humbly  to  believe  that  at  some  fu- 
"ture,  and  probably  distant  period,  the  whole  world  will 
"  be  united  u\  the  true  spirit  and  practice  of  Christianity ; 
"but  in  reviewing  the  history  of  the  past,  we  are  com- 
"pelled  to  confess  that  the  only  model  at  all  approaching 
"  to  that  perfection  is  confined  to  the  two  first  centuries 
"of  our  faith,  and  that  it  began  to  fall  off  in  excellence 
"  even  before  the  conclusion  of  tliat  period.  But  transient 
"  as  it  was.  we  still  recur  to  it  with  pious  satisfaction,  and 
"  we  rejoice  both  as  men  and  as  Christians  that  our  nature 
"  has  been  found  capable  of  such  holy  exaltation,  and  that 
"  our  religion  was  the  instrument  which  exalted  it."  Wad. 
p.  47. 

"  We  shall  conclude  this  chapter  by  a  quotation  from 
"his  First  Apology  (c.  xiv.)  :  'We  who  formerly  rejoiced 
"in  licentiousness,  now  embrace  discretion  and  chastity; 
"we  who  rejoiced  in  magical  arts,  now  devote  ourselves 
"  to  the  unbegotten  God,  the  God  of  goodness ;  we  who 
"set  our  affections  upon  wealth  and  possessions, now  bring 
"  into  the  common  stock  all  oar  property,  and  share  it  with 
"the  indigent;  we,  who,  owing  to  the  diversity  of  cus- 
"  toms,  would  not  partalve  of  the  same  hearth  with  those 
"of  a  different  race,  now,  since  the  appearance  of  Christ, 
"live  together,  and  pray  for  our  enemies-,  and  endeavor  to 
"persuade  those  who  unjustly  hate  us,  that,  by  leading  a 
"life  conformed  to  the  excellent  precepts  of  Christianity, 
"they  may  be  filled  with  the  good  hope  of  obtaining  the 
"same  happiness  with  ourselves  from  that  God,  who  is 
"  Lord  above  all  things.'  "     Justin's  Apology. 

"Who  will  not  confess  (says  Origen  to  Celsus)  that  the 
"  worst  members  of  the  church,  who  are  few  in  comparison 
"with  the  better,  are  much  more  virtuous  than  those  who 
"compose  the  popular  assemblies?  The  church  of  God,  at 
"  Athens,  if  you  will,  is  tranquil  and  peaceable,  search- 
"ing  only  to  do  God's  pleasure:  the  Assembly  of  the 
"Athenians  is  seditious,  and  bearing  no  comparison  to 
"it.  The  same  is  true  of  the  churches  of  Corinth  and 
"Alexandria,  compared  to  the  popular  assemblies  of  those 
"  cities  ....  150  that^  if  we  compare  the  senate  of  the  church 
"  with  the  senate  of  every  city,  we  shall  find  the  senators 
"of  the  church  worthy  to  govern  the  city  of  God;  while 
"the  others  have  nothing  in  their  morals  which  fits  them 
"for  their  rank,  or  places  them  above  the  ordinary  quali- 
"  ties  of  citizens.     And,  if  we  carry  the  comparison  further, 


MORALITY.  161 

«  we  shall  observe  the  immense  moral  superiority  of  the 
"most  dissolute  and  imperfect  of  the  bishops  and  presby- 
"ters  over  the  civil  magistrates." 

Said  Pliny :  "  They  bind  themselves  by  an  oath, 
"  not  to  the  commission  of  any  wickedness,  but  not  to  be 
"  guilty  of  theft,  or  robbery,  or  adultery, — ^never  to  falsify 
"their  word,  nor  to  deny  a  pledge  committed  to  them 
"when  called  upon  to  return  it." 

Prayer.  TertuUian  says :  "By  virtue  of  imparted  grace, 
prayer  dulls  not  the  sense  of  pain,  but  arms  him  who  suffers 
the  pain  with  strength  to  bear  it.  The  prayer  of  the  Chris- 
tian draws  down  no  retribution  from  heaven,  but  averts  the 
anger  of  God  ;  it  watches  for  its  enemies,  it  intercedes  for  its 
persecutors,  it  obtains  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  it  dispels 
temptation,  it  comforts  the  feeble-minded,  and  refreshes 
the  strong."  Origen  says :  "  He  prays  without  ceasing,  who 
suitably  unites  prayer  with  action;  for  active  duty  is  an 
integrant  part  of  prayer.  The  "whole  life  of  the  believer 
is  one  entire  and  connected  prayer ;  of  which  prayer,  com- 
monly so  called,  forms  but  a  part.  Our  whole  life  must 
express  '  Our  Father  which  art  in  Heaven' — such  a  life 
having  its  conversation  not  on  earth,  but  always  in 
heaven." 

"TertuUian  and  Clement  commend,  as  a  blessedness 
of  family  devotion,  'daily  prayers,  songs  of  devotion, 
and  reading  of  the  Bible.'  'Let  each  of  you  pray  to- 
God,  not  for  himself  alone,  but  for  all  the  brethren  as  the 
Lord  hath  taught.'  Cyprian.  '  Outstretched  hands,  up- 
lifted eyes,  and  bended  knees — this  posture,  says  Origen,  is 
the  sign  of  a  bowed  down  and  humbled  spirit.'  A  place  is 
spoken  of  also  as  the  place  where  believers  assemble  for 
prayer."     Ibid.  285-288. 

TertuUian  says:  ''-It  is  the  spiritual  sacrifice,'  which 
"  has  superseded  the  sacrifices  of  the  old  covenant.  Isa.  1 :  11. 
"This  passage  informs  us  what  God  does  not  seek;  but  the 
"gospel  teaches  us  what  he  does  seek — 'The  hour  cometh,. 
"  and  now  is,  when  the  true  worshipers  shall  worship  the 
"Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth ;  for  God  is  a  Spirit.'  We  aro 
"  the  true  worshipers  and  the  true  priests,  wlio  pray  in  the 
"spirit,  and  thus  offer  the  sacrifice  which  is  befitting  God's 
11 


162  CIIUKCH   HISTORY. 

"  nature,  and  well-pleasing  in  his  sight, — that  sacrifice  which 
"he  has  sought.  And  what  is  there,  which  the  God  who 
*' seeks  this  prayer  can  withhold  from  the  prayer  that 
"springs  from  the  spirit  and  from  truth?  How  much  do 
"we  read,  hear,  believe  of  the  proofs  of  its  efficacy!'" 

"The  prayer  of  the  Christian  draws  down  no  retribution 
"from  heaven,  but  it  averts  God's  anger;  it  watches  for  its 
"  enemies;  it  intercedes  for  the  persecutors;  it  obtains  the 
"forgiveness  of  sins  ;  it  dispels  temptations;  it  comforts  the 
"feeble-minded;  speaking  of  the  pagan  husband  he  says: 
" '  Is  there  a  meeting  for  prayer,  the  husband  will  devote 
"this  day  to  the  use  of  the  bath;  is  a  fast  to  be  observed, 
"he  will  on  this  day  make  a  banquet  for  his  friends.  Never 
"will  more  hindrances  arise  from  the  business  of  thehouse- 
"hold,  than  precisely  when  the  duties  of  Christian  charity, 
"call  the  wife  to  go  abroad.'  'It  behooves  the  faithful,' 
"says  TertuUian,  '  neither  to  take  food,  nor  to  enter  a  bath, 
"without  interposing  a  prayer;  for  the  nourishing  and  re- 
"  freshing  of  the  spirit  should  have  precedence  of  the  nour- 
"ishing  and  refreshing  of  the  body,  the  heavenly  of  the 
"  earthly.'  "     Nean.  i.  285-288. 

Conversion.  Cyprian — "  From  me  receive,  what  must 
"be  felt  ere  it  be  learned,  Avhat  is  not  gathered  by  a  long 
"course  of  continued  study,  but  seized  at  once  by  the 
"  shorter  method  of  grace."    See  Nean.  i.  250. 

The  Savior  compares  conversion  to  the  growth  of  seed 
falling  into  good  ground.  That  is,  when  the  fallow  ground 
of  the  heart  is  prepared  by  repentance  the  word  of  God 
grows  there  by  faith.  He  compares  the  new  birth  to  an 
effect  produced  by  the  wind.  That  is  as  the  wind  invisible 
produces  effects  which  all  acknowledge,  so  the  spirit  ])ro- 
duces  in  us  a  new  spirit  of  life;  new  desire;  new  hope  • 
new  love.  This  new  spirit  life  ;  this  hungering  and  thirst- 
ing alter  righteousness,  is  the  ncAV  birth  of  the  new  life; 
comi^ared  again  to  a  well  of  water  in  us  springing  up 
unto  eternal  life.  The  first  Christians  never  sprang  doubts 
about  conversion  unless  the  life  was  evil.  They  never  de- 
manded "  experience,"  save  to  believe  in  Christ  with  all 
the  heart.  They  knew  nothing  of  the  slow  seeking  and 
doubting;  they  sought  and  found.  Conversion  was  con- 
sidered in  its  simplest  form,  as  bringing  a  sinner  over  to 


EDUCATION,   SCHOOLS,   ETC.  163 

love  and  serve  the  Lord.  No  doubts  were  started  to  drive 
the  convert  back.  No  hindrances  were  proposed  to  work 
despair.  They  supposed  every  one  sincere  and  received 
them  accordingly.  They  only  doubted  the  inward  work  of 
grace  when  they  saw  a  want  of  outward  conformity. 
Baptism  came  to  be  delayed  more  and  more,  as  time  rolled 
on,  but  it  was  never  substituted  for  conversion  by  the  in- 
telligent. The  free  grace  of  God  they  supposed  to  extend 
to  ever}'^  true  penitent,  cleansing  his  soul  from  all  sin.  Be- 
lieving  with  all  the  heart  was  the  only  experience  re- 
quired. Prayer  was  supposed  to  be  the  sure  way  to  par- 
don, to  the  penitent  believer. 

Remission.  "In  after  ages,  by  an  error  common  in  the 
"growth  of  superstition,  the  efficacy  inherent  in  the  re- 
"pentance,  was  attributed  to  the  ceremony  ;  and  the  act 
"  which  washed  away  the  inherited  corruption  of  nature, 
"  was  supposed  to  secure  a  general  impunity,  even  of  un- 
"  repented  offenses.  But  the  double  delusion  gained  very 
"little  ground  during  the  first  two  centuries."  Wad.  Ch. 
His.  46. 

Remission  of  Sins.  Justin  Martyr  says:  "Whosoever 
"  are  persuaded  that  those  things  are  true  which  are  taught 
"  and  inculcated  by  us,  and  engage  to  live  according  to 
"them,  are  taught  to  pray  to  God,  fasting,  for  the  r^m/s-^/oTi 
"  of  their  former  sins^  while  we  pray  and  fast  with  them. 
"  Tiien  they  are  led  by  us  to  some  place  where  water  is,  and 
"are  regenerated  even  as  we  ourselves  were  regenerated  ; 
"for  they  are  then  immersed  in  the  water,  in  the  name  of 
"  the  Father  of  all,  the  Lord  God,  and  of  our  Savior  Jesus 
"  Christ,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  Justin  Martyr,  Apol.  i. 
eh.  61. 

EDUCATION,    SCHOOLS,  ETC. 

"The  earl}'-  Christians  felt  the  necessity  of  education, 
"though  they  diflered  as  to  its  proper  limits  and  object. 
"  We  are  told  that  St.  John  erected  the  school  at  Ephesus, 
"  Poly  carp  at  Smyrna,  and  St.  Mark  at  Alexandria."  See 
Waddington,  p.  38. 

It  is  surprising,  when  we  consider  that  Jesus  chose  his 
first  teachers  from  the  illiterate  and  the  unlearned,  with 
what  promptitude  they  established  schools.     At  Antioch, 


164  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Ephesus,  Corinth,  and  Rome,  no  sooner  was  the  banner  of 
Christ  raised  than  a  Christian  school  was  started.  The 
most  celebrated  of  all  these  was  the  Catechetical  school 
at  Alexandria,  founded  by  Mark.  This,  even  while  perse- 
cution raged  on  every  side,  became  renowned  for  its 
learned  doctors.  Pantaenns,  Clemens,  and  Origen  raised 
the  character  of  the  academy  to  the  highest  eminence. 
Tlie  scholars  of  Origen  were  Plutarch,  Serenus,  Herlas  (a  wo- 
man), Heraclides,  Dionysius,Gregory  Thaumaturgus,  Ath- 
enadorus  and  many  others.  Eusebius  says  of  this  school : 
It  is  impossible  to  give  a  catalogue  of  all  the  prodigies  of 
piety  and  learning  which  came  out  of  the  school  of  Origen. 
Crowds  of  scholars  daily  thronged  to  his  lectures.  He  as- 
signed the  instruction  of  the  under  proficients  to  Heraclus. 
The  school  at  Ephesus  was  founded  by  St.  John.  That  at 
Smyrna  by  Polycarp.  They  well  knew  that  an  unlearned 
church  would  ever  be  subordinate  to  the  learned  world. 
And  they  prepared  to  lead  not  to  follow.  In  the  second 
and  third  centuries  these  schools  sent  forth  scholars  com- 
manding the  respect  and  reverence  of  the  learned  world. 
Ignorance  can  never  cope  with  learning  with  any  chance 
of  success.  Knowledge  is  power.  Science  arranges  all 
knowledge,  all  wisdom,  all  forces,  all  influences,  and  makes 
them  subservient  to  the  desired  end. 

WHY    THE   CHRISTIANS   WERE    ACCUSED    OF    ATHEISM. 

Because  the  Christians  of  the  first  ages  worshiped  as 
the  Supreme  God,  the  invisible  Jehovah  alone ;  idolaters  who 
worshiped  corporeal  gods,  supposed  the  Christians  really 
had  no  God,  and  called  them  atheists.  It  seemed  strange 
to  the  pagan  that  the  house  of  God  was  empty.  The  naked 
walls,  the  absence  of  statues,  the  want  of  images,  the  dis- 
avowal of  any  supreme  being  visible  or  tangible  to  the 
senses,  excited  the  surprise  of  all  classes.  The  statues  of 
the  pagans  the  Christians  called  devils  ;  as  they  considered 
them   animated  by  the    beings    they  represented.*     This 

♦Waddington,  6G. 


WHY  THE   CHRISTIANS    WERE    ACCUSED   OF   ATHEISM.       165 

ehows  with  what  devotion  they  held  the  pure  doctrine  of 
one  invisible  God.  Had  they  taught  the  modern 
"Catholic"  doctrine,  with  or  without  the  crucifixes, 
statues,  images,  etc.,  they  would  never  have  been  accused 
of  atheism ;  but  rather  owned  by  their  pagan  brethren 
as  fellow  idolaters. 

The  Apocryphal  New  Testament  contains  writings  of 
the  early  Christians,  and  is  next  in  place  to  the  inspired 
writings,  except  in  case  of  some  evident  forgeries.  There 
are  many  epistles,  gospels,  and  other  writings  extant ;  but 
the  collection  in  the  New  Testament  contains  all  that  is 
reliable.  It  is  much  safer  to  abridge  than  to  extend.  The 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  would  guide  a  soul  safely  to  heaven. 
"  By  the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin,"  and  by  ihe  gospel  we 
have  "  salvation."  Therefore  with  the  law  to  guide  in 
morals,  and  the  gospel  to  give  the  knowledge  of  grace, 
each  soul  could  find  the  will  of  God.  The  Law  and  either 
Evangelist  would  guide  a  servant  of  God  in  duty,  and 
bring  a  soul  to  heaven. 

The  Apostolical  Constitutions  are  forgeries  of  a  later 
date  by  some  impostor,  or  impostors,  who  were  anxious  to 
impose  their  own  opinions  on  the  church  as  laws.  They 
were  compiled  previous  to  the  fourth  century.  According 
to  the  Constitution  "  heretics  are  ihe  little  foxes  who  spoil 
the  vines.''''  Sol.  Song  2  :  15.  Jortin  thinks  this  equal  to 
the  modern  minister  who  on  1  Kings  10:  22,  where  the 
navy  of  Hiram  brought  Solomon  once  in  three  years  "  gold, 
and  silver,  ivory,  and  apes,  and  peacocks,"  said  "  by  apes 
we  are  to  understand  heretics."    Jor.  i.  149. 

The  Constitutions  command  infant  baptism,  make  bap- 
tism by  heretics  void,  say  that  the  Jews  used  crucifixion^ 
which  is  untrue,  compare  a  miser  to  a  dragon  guarding  a 
treasure,  which  is  well  said.  They  prove  the  resurrection 
by  the  fable  of  Phoenix  and  by  the  sibylline  oracles,  yet 
calls  the  sibyl  the  author  a  crazy  tool.    Jor.  i.  158,  180. 

The  Apostolical  Canons  were  composed  in  the  second 
and  the  third  centuries.     The  fiftieth  Canon  req[uires  trine 


166  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

immersion.  The  sixty-ninth  requires  fasting  during  the 
forty  days  of  Lent.  The  impostor  failed  in  his  effort  to 
deceive. 

The  sibylline  oracles  contained  many  prophecies,  pre- 
tending to  date  from  a  remote  antiquity.  Prophecies  of 
Pagans,  of  Jews,  and  finally  of  Christians.  They  were 
mostly  forgeries  of  the  first  and  second  centuries ;  some, 
perhaps,  written  before  the  Christian  era,  most  of  them 
after  the  events  foretold  took  place.  Yet,  perhaps,  not 
wholly  so,  for  God  has  sometimes  permitted  pagans  and 
bad  men  to  foretell  future  events;  instance  Balaam,  Cai- 
aphas  and  others. 

THE    CREED. 

In  this  kingdom  of  heaven,  as  the  laws  of  their 
heavenly  king  were  the  only  authority  recognized,  so  the 
Scriptures  were  their  only  authoritative  creed. 

Irenceus,  A.  D.  178,  says:  "The  church,  which  is  dis- 
"persed  through  the  whole  world,  even  to  the  ends  of  the 
"earth,  has  received  from  the  apostles  and  their  imrae- 
"  diate  disciples,  the  belief  in  one  God,  the  Father  Almighty, 
"  the  maker  of  the  heaven,  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  all 
"  that  in  them  is ;  and  in  one  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God, 
"  made  flesh  for  our  salvation  ;  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  who 
"  by  the  prophets  revealed  the  dispensation  and  the  com- 
"ing  of  our  beloved  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  his  birth  by  a  Vir- 
"gin,  his  j)assion,  his  resurrection,  his  ascension  into  heav- 
"  eu  in  the  flesh,  and  his  advent  t'roui  heaven  in  the  glory 
"  of  the  Father  to  the  gathering  together  of  all  things, 
"and  the  raising  up  of  the  flesh  ofall  mankind ;  that  to 
"  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  and  God,  and  Savior,  and  King, 
"  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  the  invisihle  Father^ 
"  every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  of  things 
"on  earth,  and  of  things  under  the  earth,  and  that  every 
"tongue  should  confess  to  him  ;  and  in  all  things  he  will 
"execute  righteous  judgment;  both  the  evil  spirits  and 
"  the  angels  who  sinned  and  became  apostates,  and  the 
"impious,  the  unjust,  the  breakers  of  the  law,  and  the 
"blasphemers  among  men,  he  will  send  into  everlasting 
"tire;  but  to  the  just,  and  holy,  and  to  those  who  keep 
"his  commandments,  and  remain  in  his  love,  whether  from 


THE    CREED.  167 

"the  beginning:,  or  vvhether  they  have  repented  of  their 
"sins,  he  will  give  life,  and  incorruptibility,  and  glory  for 
"  ever."     Irenaeus,  Lib.  i.  c.  2,  p.  50. 

Waddington  says  :  "The  first  Christians  used  no  writ- 
"ten  creed.  The  earliest  pastors  of  the  churches  drew 
"their  belief  from  the  Scripture  itself,  as  delivered  to 
"them  by  writing  or  preaching,  and  they  were  contented 
"to  express  that  belief  in  the  language  of  Scripture.  They 
"were  not  curious  to  investigate  that  which  is  not  clearly 
"revealed,  but  they, adhered  firmly  and  faithfully  to  that 
"  which  they  knew  to  be  true  ;  therefore  their  variations 
"were  without  schism  and  their  difference  without  acri- 
"  mony.  The  creed  which  was  first  adopted,  and  that  per- 
"  haps  in  the  very  earliest  age,  by  the  Church  of  Rome, 
"  was  what  is  now  called  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  it  was 
"  the  general  opinion,  from  the  fourth  century  downward, 
"  that  it  was  actually  the'  production  of  those  blessed  per- 
"sons  assembled  for  that  purpose.  Our  evidence  is  not 
"  sufficient  to  establish  that  fact,  and  some  writers  very 
"  confidently  reject  it.  But  there  is  reasonable  ground 
"  for  our  assurance  that  the  form  of  faith  which  we  still 
"repeat  and  inculcate  was  in  use  and  honor  in  the  very 
"  early  propagation  of  our  religion." 

Mosheim  says:  "The  whole  of  the  Christian  religion. 
"is  comprehended  in  two  great  points,  one  of  which  re- 
"  gards  what  we  are  to  believe,  and  the  other  relates  to 
"our  conduct  and  actions;  or,  in  a  shorter  phrase,  the  gos- 
"pel  presents  to  us  objects  of  faith  and  rules  of  practice. 
"The  apostles  express  the  former  by  the  term  mystery,  or 
"the  truth,  and  the  latter  by  that  of  godliness,  or  piety.  The 
"rule  and  standard  of  both  are  those  books  which  contain 
"the  revelation  that  God  made  of  his  will  to  persons  chos- 
"  en  for  that  purpose,  whether  before  or  after  the  birth  of 
"Christ;  and  these  divine  books  are  usually  called  the 
"Old  and  New  Testament."  ' 

"The  apostles  and  their  disciples  took  all  possible  care, 
"in  the  earliest  times  of  the  church,  that  these  sacred 
"  books  might  be  in  the  hands  of  all  Christians,  that  they 
"  might  be  read  and  explained  in  the  assemblies  of  the 
"  faithful."  "  In  the  earliest  periods  of  the  church,  the 
"  Christian  worship  was  confined  to  one  Supreme  God,  and 
"his  Son  Jesus  Christ."     Mosh.  i.  46,  180. 

The  doctrines  since  found  in  creeds  do  not  belong  to  the 


168  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

primitive  church,  but  have  been  added  from  time  to  time, 
as  future  history  will  develop. 

Neander  says:  "Some  traces  of  a  Confession  of  Faith, 
"  which  was  made  at  baptism,  are  to  be  found  even  in  the 
"  New  Testament.  Such  confessions  of  faith  were  after- 
"ward  more  fully  drawn  out,  in  opposition  to  Jews,  to  pa- 
"  gans  and  to  heretics.  These  confessions  were  intended 
"  to  embrace  those  essentials  of  Christianity,  wherein  all 
"  the  churches  were  agreed.  It  was  believed  that  the 
"  doctrine  expressed  in  these  confessions  of  faith  proceed- 
"ed  from  the  apostles  ;  that  it  was  the  doctrine  which  they 
"preached  in  living  words  and  in  their  writings;  but  it 
"was  by  no  means  the  opinion  in  the  beginning,  that  the 
"  apostles  had  drawn  up  any  such  confession  in  words. 
"This  confession  was  put  into  the  hands  of  the  catechumens 
"  as  a  document  which  contained  the  essentials  of  Chris- 
"  tianity.  Many  who  had  been  l6d  to  embrace  the  faith 
"after  much  inquiry,  after  consulting  different  religious 
"  writings  and  reading  the  Scriptures  for  themselves,  of 
"  course  did  not  need  it  to  keep  them  in  a  knowledge  of 
"  Christianity.  It  could  only  serve  in  their  ease  as  a 
"  means  of  convincing  them,  that  the  church  with  which 
"they  wished  to  become  connected,  agreed  in  doctrine 
"  with  the  Holy  Scriptures  from  which  they  had  already 
"  derived  their  faith.  Thus  Clement  of  Alexandria  invites 
"  the  heathen  to  convince  themselves  what  the  true  Chris- 
"  tian  doctrine  is,  by  searching  the  Scriptures  where  it 
"was  to  be  found,  if  they  would  but  apply  their  mental 
"  powers  to  distinguish  the  true  from  the  plausible,  the 
"  doctrine  really  derived  from  the  Scriptures  from  that 
"  which  merely  attached  itself  to  them  in  appearance. 
"Others,  however,  obtained  their  first  knowledge  of 
"Christianity  from  the  instruction  contained  in  the  Con- 
"  fession  of  Faith  and  imparted  in  connection  with  it,  with- 
"  out  finding  themselves  in  a  situation,  till  some  time  after- 
"  ward,  of  comparing  with  the  Scriptures  what  they  had 
"  thus  received  from  human  tradition.  It  was  of  these, 
"the  Gnostic  Heracleon  remarked:  'They  are  first  led  to 
"believe  on  the  Savior  by  the  testimony  of  men;  but 
"when  tliey  come  to  his  own  words,  they  believe  no  long- 
"  er  on  the  ground  of  human  testimony  alone,  but  for  the 
"  sake  of  the  truth  itself.'  "    Nean.  i.  307,  308. 

The  symbol  called  the  "  Apostles'  Creeds ;"  it  is  not 
supposed  that  the  apostles  ever  saw  it  in  its  present  form; 


apostles'  creed. 


169 


but  it  was  compiled  by  others  who  honestly  designed  it  as 
a  brief,  yet  comprehensive  view  of  the  chief  points  of  doc- 
trines taught  by  the  apostles.  Had  the  apostles  compiled 
it,  St.  Luke  would  doubtless  have  recorded  it,  and  it  would 
have  been  received  as  inspired  together  with  the  Scrip 
tures.  The  following  presents  it  as  it  originally  stood  and 
as  it  is  now  read : 

apostles'  creed. 


As    it  stood   A.    D.  600.     Copied  from  Mr. 
Justin  Bailey's  Kdition   of  the   Book   of 
Coimuon   Prayer. 
"  Before  the  year  GOO,  it  was  no  more  than 
this."     Mr.  Justin  Bailey,  p.  9.  n. 

I.     I  BELIEVE  in  God  the  Fa- 
ther Almighty : 

2  And  in  Jesus  Christ  his  on- 
ly begotten  Son,  our  Lord; 

3  Who  was  born  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  Virgin  Mary, 

4  And     was     crucified     under 
Pontius  Pilate,  and  was  buried  ; 


6  And  on  the  third  day  rose 
again  from  the  dead, 

7  Ascended  into  heaven,  sit- 
teth  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father  ; 

8  Whence  he  shall  coEie  to 
judge  the  quick  and  the  dead; 

9  And  in  the  Holy  Ghost ; 

10  The  Holy  Church; 

1 1  The  remission  of  sins  ; 


12  And    the    resurrection 
the  flesh.  Amen. 


As  it  now  stands  in  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  of  the  United  Church  of  England 
and  Ireland,  as  by  law  established,  and  aa 
read  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


1  I  BELIEVE  in  God  the  Fa- 
ther Almighty,  maker  of  heaven 
and  earth  : 

2  And  in  Jesus  Christ,  his 
only  Son,  our  Lord  ; 

3  Who  was  conceived  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  born  of  the  Virgin 
Mary, 

4  Suffered  under  Pontius  Pi- 
late, was  crucified,  dead,  and 
buried  ; 

5  He  descended  into  hell ; 

6  The  third  day  he  rose  again 
from  the  dead  : 

7  He  ascended  into  heaven, 
and  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of 
God  the  Father  Almighty  ; 

8  From  thence  he  shall  come 
to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead. 

9  1  believe  in  the  Holy- 
Ghost; 

10  The  holy  Catholic  Church; 
the  communion  of  saints  ; 

1 1  The  forgiveness  of  sins  ; 


resurrection    of    the 
the  life    everlasting. 


of  12  The 

body  ;     and 
Amen. 
This  creed  has  these  peculiar  virtues  ;  it  was  not  de- 
nied by  good  men  ;  it  anathematized  no  saints  ;  it  created 
no  divisions ;  but  for  these  very  reasons  it  has  been  consid- 


170  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

ered  too  scriptural,  charitable  and  general  to  satisfy  spirit- 
ual tyrants,  and  has,  therefore,  been  interpolated  and  neg- 
lected, while  others  have  been  preferred  of  a  more  heret- 
ical and  uncharitable  character. 

EARTHLY    GOVERNMENTS   AND   PERSECUTIONS. 

Jesus  said.  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  and  plainly 
intimated  that  the  kings  of  the  earth  would  persecute  his 
cause.  At  the  advent  of  our  blessed  Savior,  the  earthly 
governments  were  all  pagan,  and  to  be  a  Christian  was 
criminal  in  the  sight  of  the  law  and  in  the  opinion  of  the 
citizen.  The  infants  of  Bethlehem  were  slain  by  the 
sword  aimed  at  the  Savior,  but  Herod  did  not  long  survive 
the  cruel  edict.  Antipas  beheaded  John  the  Baptist;  but 
was  soon  after  defeated  by  the  Arabian  king,  and  his  do- 
minion was  taken  from  him  and  he  was  sent  into  banish- 
ment, 

Salome^  who  desired  the  head  of  John,  lost  her  head  in 
the  ice  cakes  where  she  had  fallen  in,  in  the  winter. 

Judas  ended  his  career  by  suicide  before  the  death  of 
the  Savior  he  had  betrayed. 

Of  Pilate  Eusebius  says:  "Neither  did  the  equity  of 
"God  forget  the  sentence  which  Pilate  had  pronounced 
"against  his  Son  ;  but  cast  upon  him  such  a  load  of  calam- 
"  ities  that  in  the  conclusion  he  became  his  own  execu- 
"tioner."     ii.  58. 

Caiaphas^  after  only  three  years,  was  ignominiously 
deposed  by  the  Roman  governor. 

Ilerod  Agrlppa  slew  James  and  put  Peter  in  prison, 
but  the  angel  of  the  Lord  slew  him.    Acts  12:  23. 

Ananias,  the  high  priest,  commanded  them  to  smite 
Paul  qn  the  mouth,  and  Paul  said,  "  God  shall  smite  thee." 
He  was  slain  A.  H.  ^'o^  by  a  faction  headed  by  his  own  son. 

Ananus,  the  high  priest,  slew  James  the  Lord's  brother, 
and  was  soon  deposed  by  Agrippa.  The  first  martyr  whet- 
ted the  appetite  for  blood,  and  a  general  persecution  of  the 
Jews  followed.     The  first  pagan  persecution  was  by  Claud- 


EAKTHLY    GOVEKNMENTS   AND   PERSECUTIONS.  171 

ius,  the  Roman  emperor  (Acts  18:  2),  directed  against  the 
Jews,  which  drove  the  Christians  from  Rome;  for  the  Chris- 
tians being  all  Jews  by  birth,  were  involved  in  their  com- 
mon calamities.  This  Claudius  was  a  stupid  drunkard  and 
a  glutton.  He  married  for  his  fourth  wife  Agrippina,  the 
mother  of  Nero.  She  soon  induced  him  to  adopt  Nero  and 
marry  him  to  his  daughter  Octavia,  then  but  eleven  years 
old.  To  attend  this  imperial  wedding  brought  Agrippa — 
"  almost  persuaded  to  be  a  Christian  " — to  Rome  ;  and  to 
bis  favor  we  may  trace  not  only  the  good-will  manifested 
to  Paul  on  his  journey,  but  his  mild  treatment  and  final 
discharge.  Agrippina,  the  mother  of  Nero,  by  poisoning 
Claudius,  soon  made  room  on  the  throne  for  the  young  ty- 
rant, Nero.  This  introduces  us  to  the  famous  "  ten  perse- 
cutions.'''' The  number  is  made  ten  by  division,  increase 
or  limitation,  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  historian,  and 
thus  numbered — 

I.  The  persecution  under  Nero,  a.  d.  64. 

II.  The  persecution  under  Domitian,  a.  d.  95. 

III.  The  persecution  under  trajan,  a.  d.  10  8. 

IV.  The  fourth  persecution  was  made  under  marcus  au- 
relius,  a.  d.  168. 

V.  The  fifth  persecution  under  Severus,  a.  d.  202. 

VI.  The  persecution  under  Maximinus,  a.  d.  235. 
VIL  The  persecution  under  Decius,  a.  d.  249. 

VIII.  The  persecution  under  Valerian,  a.  d.  257. 

IX.  The  persecution  under  Aurelian,  a.  d.  274. 

X.  The  persecution  under  Dioclesian,  a.  d.  302. 

The  first  persecution,  a.  d.  64.  "The  first  imperial  perse- 
"cution  was  under  Nero,  who  set  fire  to  tlie  city  of  Rome ; 
"and  when  the  tide  of  popular  fury  set  hard  against  him,  laid 
"  it  to  the  Christians,  and  punished  them  accordingly.  Paul 
"  being  a  Roman  citizen,  was  saved  from  torture,  and  be- 
"  headed  on  the  Appiau  Road  some  distance  from  the  city. 
"  Vast  multitudes  suffered ;  some  were  wrapped  up  in 
"  skins  of  wild  beasts,  and  worried  by  dogs  ;  others  were 
"braced  round  with  tunics  steeped  in  pitch,  placed  at  cer- 
"  tain  distances,  and  set  on  lire   to  illuminate  the  streets 


172  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"  by  night,  instead  of  lamps.  These  scenes  of  horror  con- 
"  tiuued  for  a  length  of  time,  to  gratify  the  whims  of  a 
"savage  tyrant,  who  sported  in  human  blood.  The  per- 
"  sedition  extended  to  the  provinces,  and  lasted  as  long 
"  as  Nero  lived." 

On  the  death  of  Nero,  Galba,  Otho,  Vitellius,  and  Ves- 
pasian quickly  succeeded.  The  last  returned  from  his 
command  before  Jerusalem  to  the  throne.  Titus,  his  son, 
pressed  the  siege.  The  Christians  fled  to  Pella  in  the 
mountains  of  Syria,  as  Jesus  directed.  The  wretched  Jews 
EuiFered  inconceivable  horrors.  The  following  incident 
gives  a  true  picture  of  their  extremity: 

"  A  woman,  reduced  by  hunger  to  the  last  extremity, 
"took  her  sucking  infant  from  her  breast,  then  fixing  her 
"  eyes  upon  him  with  a  look  of  wild  despair,  thus  expressed 
"the  anguish  of  her  heart:  'Hapless  babe,  shall  1  take 
"away  thy  life  to  prolong  my  own?  or  by  giving  thee  my 
"  milk,  to  what  wretched  misery  shall  I  reserve  thee  ?  Wilt 
"thou  not  be  doomed  to  die  at  last  with  hunger,  or  to  live 
"  a  Roman  slave  ?'  In  saying  this  she  thrust  a  knife  into 
"  the  throat  of  her  little  infant,  and  divided  his  body  in 
"  two  equal  parts,  one  of  which  she  roasted  and  ate,  re- 
"  serving  the  other  half  for  her  meal  the  next  day.  Some 
"  of  the  garrison  happened  to  be  passing,  and  perceiving 
"  the  smell  of  something  roasted,  entered  the  house,  and 
"  with  horrid  threats  insisted  upon  the  woman's  producing 
"  the  fragments  of  her  repast.  She  produced  the  frag- 
"ments  of  her  half-devoured  child.  Seeing  them  turn 
"  pale  with  horror  at  the  sight,  she  said,  '  You  are  not 
"  surely  more  nice  in  eating  than  a  woman ;  nor  can  your 
"feelings  be  more  tender  than  those  of  a  mother:  you  see 
"the  remains  of  my  dear  ill-fated  infant;  I  have  eaten 
"one  half,  you  well  may  eat  the  other.'  They  made  no 
"  answer,  but  turned  away.  Titus  destroyed  the  city  and 
"  the  temple,  and  put  to  death  in  Jerusalem  and  the  neigh- 
"  boring  cities  nearly  a  million  of  people.  Many  hundreds 
"he  crucified.  Of  ninety-seven  thousand  prisoners,  he 
"  sent  Nero  six  thousand  for  slaves  ;  thirty  thousand  were 
"  sold  as  bondmen  into  Egypt ;  eleven  thousand  in  one 
"  place,  he  caused  to  perish  by  starvation.  At  Cesarea  he 
"murdered  two  thousand  five  hundred  on  his  brother's 
"birthday,  and  a  greater  number  at  Berytus  on  his  fa- 
"ther's.     Re   distributed  nearly  thirty  thousand  through 


EARTULY    GOVERNMENTS    AND    PERSECUTIONS.  173 

"  the  provinces  of  Rome,  to  be  destroyed  in  the  theaters 
"  by  the  sword  or  wild  beasts  to  make  a  Roman  holiday." 

These  sufferings  were  plainly  foretold  by  the  proph 
et  Daniel,  and  also  by  our  Savior.  We  drop  a  tear  over- 
the  sufferings  of  the  children  of  Abraham,  and  purposely 
note  the  event  in  connection  with  the  first  persecution. 
Titus  succeeded  his  father,  but  was  carried  off  by  poison 
to  make  room  for  his  brother  Domitian. 

The  second  persecution  was  a.  d.  95,  by  Domitian,  when 
forty  thousand  Christians  are  supposed  to  have  suffered. 
Simeon,  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  was  crucified.  All  kinds  of 
torture,  rack,  searing,  broiling,  burning,  scourging,  stoning, 
and  hanging  were  resorted  to.  Timothy,  the  pastor  of  the 
Christian  Church  at  Ephesus,  suffered  A.  D.  97.  Plutarch 
the  great  Grecian  writer,  lived  at  this  time ;  but  the  new 
religion  had  not  acquired  sufficient  importance  yet  to 
command  notice  from  his  pen,  or,  as  Tillemont  remarks, 
perhaj)s  he  did  not  care  to  speak  ill  of  it,  or  dare  to  speak 
well  of  it.  The  Christians  had  enjoyed  thirty  years  of 
peace  and  prosperity,  and  churches  had  been  planted  in 
most  of  the  principal  parts  of  the  empire.  Eusebius  says  : 
"  St.  John  the  evangelist  was  banished  to  the  Isle  of  Pat- 
mos  where,  according  to  Irenseus,  he  had  received  his 
Revelation.  At  the  same  time  Domitian  being  troubled 
with  the  jealousy  which  Herod  had  formerly  conceived, 
ordered  search  to  be  made  after  such  persons  as  were  of 
kin  to  Christ,  and  the  grandsons  of  Judas,  the  brother  of 
Christ,  according  to  the  flesh,  were  brought  before  him 
(says  Hegesippus),  but  when  he  had  examined  them,  and 
understood  the  meanness  of  their  condition,  and  that  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  was  not  of  this  world,  but  future  and 
spiritual,  he  gave  no  further  disturbance  to  them  or  the 
church  ;  and  afterward  they  held  episcopal  authority  in  it 
down  to  the  time  of  Trajan."  Euseb.  iii.  70.  Domitian 
died  the  following  year. 

The  third  PERSECUTION,  a.  d.  108,  was  under  Trajan.  Trajan 
had  many  excellent  qualities,  and  Pope  Gregory,  it  is  said, 


174  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

prayed  his  soul  out  of  hell;  which  is  a  good  comment 
on  Matt.  16:  26,  and  what  a  Pope's  prayers  can  do.  In 
this  persecution  Ignatius  was  put  to  death,  after  being  tor- 
tured. Symphrosa,  a  widow,  was  scourged,  hung  by  the 
hair,  and  afterward  drowned  with  a  stone  hung  to  her  neck. 
This  persecution  continued  for  many  years.  Pliny  at  that 
time  was  governor  of  Bithynia,  and  by  letter  had  consulted 
Trajan  in  what  manner  he  was  to  act  with  respect  to  the 
Christians,  in  whom  he  declares  no  crime  could  be  found. 
"Their  only  error  is  this,  that  on  a  certain  day  they  meet 
before  sunrise,  and  in  two  choirs  sing  hymns  to  Christ  as 
a  god."  Trajan's  answer  reflects  no  credit  on  the  throne. 
He  said:  "The  Christians  are  not  to  be  sought  for,  nor  to 
be  molested  on  anonymous  information;  but  that  on  con- 
viction they  ought  to  be  punished." 

If  they  were  guilty  why  were  they  not  to  be  sought 
after  ?  or,  if  they  were  not  guilty,  wh}'-  were  they  to  be 
punished?  We  can  easily  see  that  his  action  was  in- 
fluenced by  his  pagan  subjects.  Clement  and  Ignatius 
suffered  under  Iiis  reign.  Symeon,  the  second  bishop  of 
Jerusalem,  was  put  to  death.  He  was  the  son  of  Cleopas. 
He  was  informed  against  as  being  of  the  house  of  David, 
and  endured  the  torture,  though  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years  old.  He  was  then  crucified.  Up  to  this  time,  says 
Eusebius,  the  church  was  pure  and  unspotted;  for  up  to 
this  time  those  lived  who  had  known  Christ  in  the  flesh, 
iii.  73.  At  this  time  lived  Aquila  who  made  a  literal 
translation  of  the  Bible  into  Greek.     Jor.  i.  300. 

The  fourth  persecution,  a.  d.  168,  was  under  Marcus 
Aurelius,  "a  mild  and  amiable  man,"  who  in  his  old  age 
would  still  take  his  book  and  go  to  Sextus,  the  philosopher, 
to  be  instructed.  While  Alcibiades  and  Attains  lay  in 
prison.  Attains  received  a  revelation  that  Alcibiades  did 
wrong  in  rejecting  animal  food,  as  refusing  God's  crea- 
tures ;  whereupon  Alcibiades  resumed  animal  food.  Both 
were  soon  put  to  death.  *  *  *  Under  this  reign  the  Chris- 
tians were  banished  from  their  houses,  stoned,  imprisoned, 


THE    THUNDERING   LEGION.  175 

plundered,  and  forced  to  walk  over  nails  and  sharp  stones 
barefooted,  and  afterward  put  to  death.  In  this  persec-u- 
tion  Polycarp  suffered.  During  this  reign  Bardesanes,  a 
Syrian  Christian,  very  highly  esteemed  by  Eusebius,  wrote 
a  book  against  Fate  and  Astrology.  Some  think  the  Man- 
icheans  borrowed  some  of  their  ideas  of  the  "  Two  Prin- 
ciples "  from  Bardesanes. 

A.  D.  171  arose  the  Montanists  with  wiiom  Tertullian 
was  united.  They  professed  to  enjoy  great  illuminations  of 
the  Spirit,  pretended  to  prophesy,  and  were  very  rigorous 
in  doctrine  and  devotion.  Some  of  their  principal  speak- 
ers were  women.    Jor.  i.  352. 

THE    THUNDERING  LEGION. 

A.  D.  171  while  the  army  of  Marcus  Aurelius  w^as  in 
great  distress  before  the  enemy  for  want  of  water,  they 
were  relieved  by  a  shower  of  rain,  attended  with  hail, 
thunder  and  lightning  so  terrific  as  to  disconcert  the  enemy 
and  put  them  to  flight.  The  pagans  attributed  this  provi- 
dential deliverance  to  the  virtues  of  the  emperor  and  their 
magicians  ;  but  the  Christians  to  the  prayers  of  the  Chris- 
tian soldiers.  Eusebius  says  he  has  the  authority  of  the 
heathens  for  the  story,  and  that  a  "Melitine  legion  consist- 
ing of  Christians  prayed  for  this  relief"  v.  93.  Jortin 
calls  it  "  a  silly  story  of  the  Thundering  Legion."  i.  341. 
At  this  time  Lucian,  the  skeptic  Epicurian,  ■\vrote  against 
the  Christians  in  a  free,  loose,  unreliable,  yet  elegant  style. 

The  FIFTH  PERSECUTION  was  under  Severus,  A.  d.  202.  He 
suddenly  published  edicts  forbidding  Christian  assemblies 
or  professing  the  name  of  Christ.  Irenasus  suffered.  In 
Egypt  and  Gaul  the  persecution  raged  with  dreadful  vio- 
lence. In  this  persecution,  Perpetua  and  Felicitas,  both 
mothers  with  their  infants,  were  drawn  from  prison  to  the 
theater,  and  exposed  to  the  fury  of  horned  beasts,  with 
many  others.  The  pagans  offered  the  customary  gaudy 
robes  as  priests  of  Saturn ;  but  they  begged  to  be  permit- 
ted to  die  without  even  the  outward  aj)pearance  of  deny- 


176  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

ing  Christ,  and  were  allowed  to  suffer  in  their  own  apparel. 
They  were  first  torn  by  beasts,  then  hewed  to  pieces  by 
gladiators.  Severus  was  an  African,  a  fellow-countryman 
of  Tertullian  and  Cyprian,  two  eminent  bishops,  great,  yet 
not  of  the  spirit  of  the  first  Christians.  Tertullian  says 
that  a  Christian,  named  Proculus,  cured  Severus,  the  em 
peror,  of  a  disease  with  oil,  for  which  Proculus  was  kept 
in  the  palace  as  long  as  he  lived,  and  the  emperor  favored 
the  Christians.  But  this  lasted  only  for  a  time.  Severus  was 
cruel,  haughty,  stubborn  and  unreasonable.  When  he  sent 
forth  the  edict  tiiat  the  Christians  and  Jews  were  to  make  no 
more  converts,  many  fled  ;  for  which  Tertullian,  the  Mon- 
tanist,  condemned  them ;  others  redeemed  themselves  with 
money.  But  Rutilius  finding  both  fail,  suffered  torments 
and  death  with  great  fortitude.  Theophilus,  bishop  of  An- 
tioch,  the  first  Christian  or  worshiper  of  God  who  ever 
spake  the  word  trinity,  lived  at  this  time,  and  disputed 
with  the  heathen  Autolycus  on  the  resurrection.  Theophi- 
lus contends  for  the  resurrection,  the  life  of  the  spirit  after 
death,  and  also  the  resurrection  of  the  body,*  and  appeals 
to  Paul's  writings  as  Scripture.  After  the  death  of  Severus, 
A.  D.  211,  to  Maximinus,  235,  the  Christians  had  quiet 
and  prosperity. 

The  sixth  persecution,  a.  d.  235,  was  under  Maximinus. 
In  this  persecution  the  Christians  were  outlawed.  Hippolis 
was  tied  to  a  wild  horse  and  dragged  to  death.  Others 
were  burnt.  Maximinus  was  by  birth  a  Thracian ;  by  his 
savage  courage  and  fierce  and  bulky  stature  he  made  the 
soldiers  look  up  to  him  as  a  chief  worthy  of  the  empire. 
Being  naturally  cruel,  and  now  raised  above  all  control, 
he  published  a  bloody  edict  against  the  Christians,  and 
his  pagan  subjects  did  not  escape. 

The  seventh  persecution,  a.  d.  219,  was  under  Decius, 
In  this  persecution  many  eminent  Christians  suffered, 
among  whom  was  Balylas,  pastor  of  the  church  at  Antioch. 
Several  females,  of  exemplary  piety,  endured  the  most  se- 
vere tortures  with  constancy  and  fortitude.     The  famous 

*Jortin  359,  360. 


EARTHLY    GOVERNMIiNTS   AND   PERSECUTIONS.  177 

Origen  at  the  age  of  sixty-four  endured  much.  Thrown 
into  a  loathsome  prison,  loaded  with  chains,  his  feet  and 
hands  extended  to  the  utmost  for  days  in  the  stocks,  his 
tortures  were  protracted  to  prolong  his  sufferings ;  in  the 
interim,  Decius  died,  and  with  a  shattered  frame  Origen 
was  released,  and  lingered  five  years  with  a  broken  con- 
stitution. 

The  eighth  persecution,  a.  d.  257,  was  under  Valerian. 
In  this  persecution  many  suffered,  both  men  and  women. 
Lawrence,  a  Chribtian  deacon,  was  broiled  over  the  lire  on 
a  large  gridiron.  Some  were  burnt,  and  others  sawn  asun- 
der. Saturninus,  the  first  bishop  of  Toulouse,  in  Gaul, 
was  torn  to  pieces  by  a  wild  bull. 

The  ninth  persecution,  a.  d.  274,  was  under  Aurelian ; 
made  short  by  the  tyrant's  own  death.  This  was  the  first 
emperor  who  took  part  with  the  church  to  enforce  disci- 
pline.    Reeves,  the  Roman  Catholic,  say?  . 

"  A  provincial  council  of  bishops,  convened  together  at 
"  Antioch,  had  pronounced  the  sentence  of  deposition  and 
"  excommunication  upon  Paul  of  Samosata,  the  bishop  of 
"that  see  for  denying  the  divinity  of  Christ.  Paul  put  him- 
"  self  under  the  protection  of  Zenobia,  and  thereby  set  the 
"  bishops  and  their  censure  at  defiance.  Queen  Zenobia,  no 
"  less  renowned  for  her  literary  than  for  her  military  tal- 
"ents,  was  at  that  time  mistress  of  the  East,  and  kept  her 
'^  court  at  Palmyra,  a  magnificent  city  in  Syria,  bordering 
"  on  the  desert  of  Arabia.  She  had  been  educated  in  the 
"Jewish  religion,  and  had  applied  to  Paul  of  Samosata  for 
"instruction  in  the  Christian  religion.  Aurelian  declared 
"  waragainst  her,  laid  siege  to  her  capital,  which  he  took, 
"  andcarried  her  away  to  grace  his  triumphal  entry  into 
"Rome.  The  oriental  bishops  being  no  longer  under  her 
"  control,  sent  an  address  to  Aurelian,  praying  that  the 
"canonical  sentence,  passed  some  years  before  against 
"Paul  the  arch-heretic,  might  be  put  in  execution,  to 
"  which  he  readily  consented.''     p.  73. 

Reeves  might  have  added  that  this  council  condemned 
the  celebrated  term  Ilomoousion  as  heresy,  which  was  af- 
terward adopted  by  the  Roman  Church  as  the  test  of  ortho- 
doxy. 

12 


178 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


The  tenth  and  last  pagan  persecution,  a.  d.  305.  The 
tenth  persecution  was  under  Diocletian. 

After  Galerius  and  Constantius,  Maxirain  and  Maxen- 
tius,  Constantino  the  Christian  ascended  the  throne,  the 
succession  to  which  we  will  notice,  the  better  to  under- 
stand its  power  for  good  or  evil  to  the  Christian  Church. 


ROMAN  EMPERORS   OP   THE   FIRST   THREE    CENTURIES. 


A.  D.  Augustus,  Christ  is  born. 

14.  Tiberius.  Christ  is  cru- 
cified. 

37.  Caligula.  Called  him- 
self a  god. 

41.  Claudius,  Christians  leave 
Rome, 

54.  Nero.  The  first  persecu- 
tion. 

68.  Galea. 

69.  Otho.    Vitellius. 
69.     Vespasian. 

79.     Titus. 

;81.  DoMiTiAN.  The  second  per- 
secution. 

:96.    Nerva. 

.98.  Trajan,  The  third  perse- 
cution. 

117.     Adrian. 

138.     Antonnius  Fius. 

,161.     Marcus  AuRELius,     The 
fourth  persecution. 

180.       COMMODUS. 

193.    I'ERTiNAx.DiDius.  Niger. 
193.     Severus. 
211.     Caracalla.GtEta. 
.217.     Macrinus. 
218.     Heliogabalus.  A  Priest 
of  ihe  Sun. 


222.  Alexander  Severus. 
Fifth  persecution. 

235.  Maximin.  Sixth  perse- 
cution. 

238,     Maximus.     Gordian. 

244.     Philip  the  Arabian. 

249.  Decius.  Seventh  perse- 
cution, 

251.     Virius.     Gallus, 

254,  Valerian.  Eighth  per- 
secution. 

260.     Gallien. 

268.     Cladius  the  second. 

270.  Aurelian,  The  ninth 
persecution. 

275.  Tacitus. 

276.  Florian. 

277.  Probius. 

278.  Cabus.  Carius,   Numer- 

lAN. 

284.  DiocLESiAN  and  Maximi- 
AN.    Tenth  persecution. 

304.  Galerius  and  Constan- 
tius. 

305.  Maximin.  Licinius.  Max- 
entius. 

306.  Constantine. 


A.  M.  4000.  At  the  birth  of  the  Savior  the  Roman  gov- 
ernment had  existed  in  the  various  forms  of  kingdom, 
republic,  or  empire,  for  over  seven  hundred  years.  Its  re- 
ligion was  pagan.  Its  power  was  supreme  over  all  the 
.civilized  world.     Its  peculiar  sacerdotal  office  of  Pontifex 


ROMAN   EMPERORS   qP   THE   FIRST   THREE    CENTURIES.      179 

Maximus  had  from  the  days  of  Numa  been  exercised  by 
a  chief  senator,  bat  Octavius assumed  it  as  emperor. 

OcTAVius,  the  nephew  of  Julius  Caesar,  who  reigned 
•when  Christ  was  born,  had  seized  every  office  of  king, 
priest,  pontiff,  praetor,  consul,  and  the  senate  confirmed  all 
by  bestowing  upon  him  the  seal  of  imperial  greatness  in. 
the  title  of  Augustus.  He  did  not  abuse  his  power,  howev- 
er, for  evil.  He  gathered  around  him  men  of  letters,  wits, 
sages  and  poets ;  and  rejoiced  in  the  establishment  of 
peace,  providentially  guided  by  Him  who  brought  into  the 
world  the  "  Prince  of  Peace." 

A.  D.  14.  Tiberius  perfected  a  stupendous  tyranny,  and 
men  were  happy  or  miserable,  according  as  he  frowned  or 
smiled.  He  covered  an  island  in  the  Mediteranean  with 
gardens,  arbors,  buildings,  and  luxury,  and  from  this  para- 
dise of  sin,  like  some  fabled  deity,  afflicted  the  world.  Un- 
der his  reign  Christ  was  crucified.     He  was  slain  A.  D.  37. 

Caligula  was  the  worst  of  tyrants.  He  considered 
himself  a  god,  and  built  a  temple  to  his  own  divinity.  Ho 
wished  that  all  the  Roman  people  had  but  one  head,  that 
he  might  sever  it  at  a  blow.  He  carried  a  box  of  snufF  for 
the  nobles  whom  he  would  have  die.  If  a  noble  refused 
a  pinch  the  executioner  seized  him.  If  he  took  it  he  died 
of  the  fatal  drug.  He  had  a  peculiar  way  of  nodding  or 
pointing  his  finger,  by  which  the  executioner  knew  his 
victim,  and  the  man  to  whom  he  thus  nodded,  or  pointed, 
died.  There  was  no  debate,  no  appeal,  no  trial.  After 
four  years  he  was  slain. 

A.  D.  41.  Claudius,  the  nephew  of  Tiberius,  was  a 
dull,  cold,  stupid  gluttonous  drunkard,  who,  too  dull  to  think, 
permitted  those  around  him  to  exercise  the  cruelty  of 
the  throne.  Messalina,  the  empress,  personified  every 
detestable  vice  and  inhumanity.  She  even  went  through 
the  ceremony  of  marriage  with  one  of  her  paramours,  al- 
most under  the  eyes  of  her  brutal  husband.  A.  D.  44.  In 
the  reign  of  this  stupid  emperor,  the  Jews  were  expelled 
from  Rome.     (See  Acts  18:  2.)   Paul  was  carried  prisoner 


180  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

to  Kome.  England  was  fully  subdued  to  the  Roman  arms, 
and  received  the  gospel.  Messalina  being  put  to  death, 
Claudius  married  Agrippina  the  widowed  mother  of  young 
Nero;  then  married  his  own  daughter  Olympia  to  Nero. 
Both  were  children,  Nero  sixteen,  and  Olympia,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Messalina,  only  eleven.  To  attend  the  nuptials  of 
these,  Agrippa,  almost  persuaded  by  Paul  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian, returned  to  Eome ;  and  during  the  festivities,  Paul 
arrived  a  prisoner ;  and,  owing  to  the  favor  of  Agrippa  and 
to  this  festive  occasion,  was  permitted  to  preach,  and  fi- 
nally set  at  liberty.  By  a  dish  of  mushrooms,  and  a  doc- 
tor's skill  in  anointing  the  tyrant's  throat  for  hoarseness,  the 
mother  of  Nero  relieved  herself  of  a  husband,  the  world 
of  a  tyrant,  and  placed  young  Nero  on  the  throne. 

A,  D.  54.  Nero.  His  name  combines  all  that  is  cruel 
and  infamous.  "  The  first  persecution,"  the  death  of  Paul, 
Peter  and  others,  mark  this  reign.  He  burned  the  city  of 
Rome  for  sport,  accused  the  Christians  of  the  crime,  and 
punished  them  to  increase  the  sport.  He  threw  young 
girls  to  the  tigers  for  sport.  He  compelled  aged  Chris- 
tians to  slay  each  other  as  gladiators,  for  sport.  Flying 
from  his  enemies,  his  coward  hand  attempted  his  own  life. 
A  friend  gave  the  desired  blow  and  the  monster  died. 

A.  D.  68.  Galea  was  exalted  to  the  throne.  After  four 
months  he  was  murdered,  and  Otho,  a  former  companion  of 
Nero,  reigned,  and  died  by  suicide.  A.  D.  69  the  army  in 
Germany  chose  Vitellius,  the  glutton ;  but  another  voice 
came  from  the  walls  of  Jerusalem.  The  army  there  had 
chosen  Vespasian. 

A.  D.  69.  Vespasian  delighted  more  in  money  than 
in  blood,  and  the  empire  rejoiced  in  being  robbed  instead 
of  being  slaughtered. 

A.  D.  79.  Titus,  the  "  darling  of  the  world,"  succeeded ; 
but  in  two  years  death  made  way  for  Domitian,  another 
son  of  Vespasian. 

A.  D.  81.  Domitian.  He  was  the  brother  of  Titus.  He 
surpassed  Nero  and  Caligula  in  the  excess  of  cruelty.  Spies 


ROMAN    EJIPERORS    OF    THE    FIRST    THREE    CENTURIES.       181 

and  executioners  were  everywhere  present.  Every  condi- 
tion was  a  crime.  No  man  was  safe.  Every  phase  of  de- 
portment was  suspicious.  Death  was  the  only  refuge.  The 
wealthy  citizen  was  first  surprised  when  by  decree  of  the 
senate,  the  emperor  was  made  his  heir  ;  but  death  followed 
closely  upon  this  honor,  and  the  death  of  the  millionaire 
brought  the  emperor  in  possession  of  the  property.  Do- 
mitian  conducted  the  second  persecution  against  the  Chris- 
tians.    He  was  succeeded  by  Nerva. 

A.  D.  98.  Nerva  was  an  old  man ;  but  though  he 
reigned  only  sixteen  months,  he  introduced  a  succession 
of  good  emperors,  whose  pagan  virtues  adorn  the  throne 
of  the  second  century. 

A.  D.  103.  Trajan  introduced  the  third  persecution.  He 
was  a  Spaniard,  and  a  stern  conqueror  ;  but  obeyed  the 
laws.  One  told  him  that  his  minister  would  murder  him 
on  the  first  opportunity.  "  Come,"  said  Trajan,  "  come  and 
tell  me  the  particulars  to-morrow."  The  emperor  went 
and  supped  with  his  minister,  was  shaved  by  his  barber, 
for  feigned  sickness  received  medicine  from  his  surgeon, 
drank  his  wine,  bathed  in  his  bath ;  and  on  the  morrow 
told  the  informant  that  he  had  proved  his  minister.  Such 
an  emperor  deserved  to  live  long;  but  he  soon  died,  nam- 
ing Adrian  his  successor. 

A.  D.  117.  Adrian,  the  peaceful,  withdrew  his  bat- 
talions from  the  borders  of  the  empire,  and  sought  peace. 
He  journeyed  through  his  whole  empire  for  seventeen 
years,  never  resting  twice  in  one  spot.  His  learning  was 
equal  to  his  activity.  He  criticised  Favorius,  the  gram- 
marian. Favorius  was  right.  Why  did  j'^ou  not  contend, 
said  his  friends  ?  "  Do  you  think,"  said  this  sensible  man, 
"that  I  would  contend  with  a  man  who  commands  thirty 
legions  ?"  But  his  vengeance  was  severe  upon  the  rebellious 
Jews.  Fifty  towns  and  a  thousand  villages  were  destroyed. 
Jewish  slaves  glutted  every  market,  crowded  all  public 
works.  Jerusalem  was  named  ^lia  Capitolina,  and  the 
statue   of  the  unclean  hog  was  placed  over  its  gates  to 


182  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

deter  the  poor  Israelite  from  entering.  He  instigated  or 
permitted  the  fourth  persecution.  Adrian  was  cruel,  as 
well  as  great.  He  executed  his  brother-in-law,  aged  ninety, 
and  a  grandson,  aged  eighteen,  on  the  merest  suspicion  of 
treachery.  The  old  man  prayed  that  the  cruel  Adrian 
might  in  his  last  days  desire  death.  The  curse  was  re- 
markably fulfilled.  Adrian  lived  to  suffer,  without  relief. 
Physicians,  priests,  sorcerers,  tried  their  arts  in  vain. 
Slaves  shrunk  from  the  task  of  slaying  him.  He  stabbed 
himself  with  a  dagger,  but  yet  died  not.  Then  he  wrote 
his  desire  for  death,  and  his  happiness  at  its  approach  in 
pathetic  lines.  Pope  has  paraphrased  them ;  instilled  in- 
to them  the  Christian's  hope  of  immortality,  and  they  are 
sung  in  Christian  congregations,  commencing  as  follows : 

"  Vital  spark  of  heavenly  flame, 
Quit,  0,  quit !  this  mortal  frame." 

Finally  death  relieved  him  of  suffering  in  the  sixty -fifth 
year  of  his  age,  and  the  twenty-first  of  his  reign. 

A.  D.  138.  Antoninus  Pius  was  a  good  emperor,  and  in- 
spired the  world  with  confidence  in  his  wisdom  and  pru- 
dence. A  conspiracy  was  discovered.  The  senate  would 
make  investigation.  "  Stop  here,"  said  the  emperor,  "I 
do  not  wish  to  find  out  how  many  people  I  have  dis- 
pleased." He  reigned  twenty-two  years,  and  was  succeed- 
ed by  Marcus  Aurelius. 

A.  D.  161.  Marcus  Aurelius,  pursued  virtue  in 
his  own  way,  permitting  a  fierce  persecution  of  the  Chris- 
tians. An  insurrection  broke  out  in  Syria,  headed  by 
Cassius,  a  descendant  of  the  patriot.  He  was  slain.  The 
senate  would  have  punished,  but  Aurelius  wrote,  "1  wish 
I  could  give  back  their  "lives  to  the  fallen.  Pardon  the 
children  of  Cassius,  what  crime  have  they  committed? 
Let  them  live  in  safety ;  let  them  retain  all  that  Cassius 
possessed,  to  be  a  monument  of  your  clemency  and  mine." 
Approaching  death,  a  tribune  came  for  his  orders.  "Go 
to  the  rising  sun,"  said  he,  "  for  me,  I  am  just  going  to 
set."  His  son,  the  unworthy,  succeeded  him,  and  the 
golden  age  closed. 


ROMAN   EMPEKORS   OF   TUE   FIRST  THREE    CENTURIES.      183 

A.  D.  181.  CoMMODUS  renewed  the  atrocities  of  the 
first  century.  He  was  more  cruel  than  Nero.  After  thir- 
teen years'  reign  he  was  assassinated. 

A.  D.  193.  Pertinax  reigned  three  months,  and  was 
murdered. 

A.  D.  193.  DiDius,  the  wealthiest  citizen,  distributed 
about  one  thousand  dollars  to  each  soldier  of  the  Prasto- 
rian  Guard,  and  bought  the  empire,  and  ascended  the 
throne,  only  to  give  place  after  seventy  days  to  Severus. 

A.  D.  193.  Severus,  the  Illyrian,  bade  Didius  prepare 
for  death.  The  executioners  killed  him.  Niger  had  been 
elected  by  the  army  in  Syria,  but  his  head  was  soon 
brought  to  Severus.  He  terrified  all  adversaries.  To  the 
soldiers  who  had  preferred  Didius,  he  said:  "Whoever  of 
you  wish  to  live,  will  depart  and  never  approach  within 
thirty  leagues  of  Rome.  Take  their  horses  and  accouter- 
ments,"  said  he  to  the  other  soldiers,  "  and  chase  them  out 
of  sight."  He  commanded,  and  the  streets  ran  with  blood. 
The  noblest  senators  fell.  His  son,  Caracalla,  was  approach- 
ing to  assassinate  him,  when  being  warned,  he  turned 
around,  and  the  sword  fell.  The  son  was  pardoned,  but 
his  accomplices  died.     This  son  succeeded  him  in  211. 

A.  D.  211.  Caracalla  commenced  his  reign  by  stab- 
bing his  brother  Geta,  in  his  mother's  presence,  and  in  her 
arms.  His  reign  was  such  as  this  first  act  promised.  Rome 
had  conquered  and  robbed  the  world,  and  all  wealth  and 
luxury  were  in  the  hands  of  the  tyrant.  Life  had  no  value. 
Madmen  ruled.  Murder  was  legalized.  Rapine  was  en- 
couraged. Vice  was  public.  Crime  was  unpunished.  Car- 
acalla ordered  a  province  destroyed  ;  but  Macrinus  put  the 
monster  to  death. 

A.  D.  218.  Macrinus  was  soon  assassinated,  and  a 
long-haired  and  beautiful  boy  of  seventeen,  a  natural  son 
of  Caracalla,  beloved  by  the  soldiers,  was  chosen.  He  was 
handsome,  gentle,  mild  and  captivating.  He  was  a  priest 
of  the  temple  of  the  sun ;  and  had  no  thought  but  to  mag- 
nify his  office  by  the  increase  of  pleasure  and  happiness. 


184:  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

Dress,  jewels  and  golden  ornaments  were  worn  once,  and 
given  to  the  servant.  He  made  his  grandmother  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Roman  senate,  and  created  another  senate  of 
women  to  regulate  etiquette  and  fashion ;  over  which  his 
own  mother  presided.     He  was  assassinated. 

A.  D.  222.  Alexander  was  but  sixteen  when  exalted 
to  the  throne.  Taught  by  a  Christian  mother,  his  con- 
stant motto  was,  "  Do  unto  others  as  you  would  that  they 
should  do  unto  you."  He  said  that  he  would  appoint  his 
governors  as  the  Christians  did  their  bishops,  viz :  by  first 
advertising  for  objections.  He  was  murdered  by  Maximin- 
who  succeeded  him. 

A.  D.  235.  Maximinus  was  a  Thracian  giant,  a  soldier, 
and  a  favorite  with  the  army.  He  was  "eight  feet  high. 
He  could  tire  down  a  horse,  or  break  his  leg  with  a  blow 
of  his  hand.  He  could  throw  thirty  wrestlers  without 
drawing  his  breath;  eat  forty  pounds  of  meat  or  drink 
twelve  quarts  of  wine."  He  had  a  son,  beautiful,  grace- 
ful and  affectionate  ;  yet  a  giant  like  himself.  The  proud 
and  cruel  Thracian  who,  though  emperor,  hated  the  Ro- 
mans, and  persecuted  the  Christians,  was  slain  with  his 
son,  in  wars  instigated  by  the  senate. 

A.  D.  238.  GoRDiAN,  a  gentle-tempered  youth,  wore  the 
purple,  now  faded  from  its  former  grandeur.  He  was  soon 
murdered. 

A.  D.  244,  Philip,  the  Arabian,  reigned.  But  murder 
soon  removed  him,  and  Decius,  Virius,  and  Gallus  all  suc- 
ceeding each  other  gave  place  to  Valerian. 

A.  D.  254.  Valerian  instituted  the  eighth  persecution. 
He  was  a  great  favorite,  but  very  unfortunate.  In  the  war 
with  the  Persians  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  Sapor,  and 
with  other  monarchs  he  was  harnessed,  and  used  as  a  brute 
to  draw  the  car  of  his  conqueror.  All  ransom  was  refused, 
and  he  died  a  slave,  insulted  and  derided,  and  his  skin  was 
stuffed  and  hung  up,  an  offering  to  the  gods,  or  a  warning 
to  tyrants. 


POMAN   EMPERORS   OF   THE    FIRST   THREE   CENTURIES.      185 

A.  D.  260.  Gallien  gave  place  to  Claudius,  and  he  to 
Aurelian. 

A.  D.  270.  Aurelian.  Under  Aurelian  was  the  ninth 
persecution.  He  was  the  first  emperor  who  exercised  the 
imperial  powers  to  execute  the  decrees  of  the  church. 
Having  conquered  Zenobia,  Queen  of  Palmyra,  he  enforced 
the  decree  of  the  Council  of  Antioch,  removing  Paul  of 
Samosata,  for  asserting  that  Christ  was  Ilomoousion  with 
the  Father,  in  the  divine  nature,  and  a  men  simply  in  the 
human  nature.     Aurellian  was  murdered. 

A.  D.  276.     Florian. 

A.  D.  277.  Probus,  the  son  of  a  gardener,  rose  to  dis- 
tinction. The  enemies  of  the  empire  fell  before  him.  He 
crossed  the  Rhine  and  killed  in  battle  four  hundred  thou- 
sand men.  Nine  kings  threw  themselves  at  his  feet.  Six- 
ty cities  were  overthrown.  The  houses  were  burned.  The 
fields  were  desolate.  In  every  part  he  ruled  or  ruined. 
But  the  fate  of  a  Roman  emperor  awaited  him. 

A.  D.  278.     Carus  and  Carnus  and  Numerian. 

A.  D.  284.  Diocletian  and  Maximian  introduced  the 
tenth  persecution. 

Diocletian  and  Maximian.  It  was  twenty  years  after 
the  Aurelian  persecution,  when  Diocletian  inaugurated 
the  tenth  and  last  pagan  persecution,  Diocletian,  to 
ease  himself  from  the  cares  of  the  vast  empire,  chose  as 
associate  emperor  Maximian.  After  nine  years  each  chose 
a  colleague.  Diocletian  chose  the  reckless  Galerius ;  and 
Maximian  chose  the  virtuous  Constantius  Chlorus ;  so  that 
there  were  now  four  emperors,  viz  : 

j  DiocLESiAN  and  {  Maximian  and 

{  Oalerius  associate.  \  Constantius  associate. 

Constantius  had  been  sent  to  Britain  under  the  previ- 
ous reign  by  Aurelian,  where  he  had  married  Helen,  a 
Christian  lady  ;  and  probably  himself  worshiped  Christ 
"along  with  the  gods  of  Rome,"  as  indeed  Constantino  his 
eon  did  at  the  temple  of  Apollo,  when  in  308  he  present- 
ed £hat  god  a  magnificent  offering.     Nean.  ii.  5,  7. 


186  '  CHURCH   HISTORY. 


FOURTH  CENTURY. 


THE  TRANSITION  AGE. 

PONTIFF,     189 — MINISTERS,    193 TRINITY,    198 — DR.    STANLEY, 

200 — COUNCIL,  202 — FATHERS,  209 HOMOOUSION,  213 — FA- 
THERS, 216 — Alexander's  scripture,  220 — two  churches, 
229 — CREEDS,  230 — emperor's  sword,  234 — episcopal  sin- 
ners, 236 — TBiCK,  236 — persecution,  238 — truth,  240 — 
constantinl's  baptism  and   death,   244 — laws,    245 — do- 

natists,  246 — byzantium,  251 — bishops   of   rome,  252 

babylon,  250 — pope,  255 — council — "arian,"  255 — arian 
pope,   257 — the    dragon,    revelation    xii.,    263 — goths, 

264 — TRIAD,    271 — PONTIFF   AND   VIRGIN,  272 — NATIONS,  273. 
THE  GREAT  APOSTACY   AND   SCHISMS. 

Descending  from  the  days  of  apostolical  purity,  before  entering  the  age 
of  apostasy,  I  will  prepare  the  reader's  mind  by  the  following  table  of  schisms. 

I.  A.  D.  325.  The  Koman  Church  was  established  on  the  basis  of  the 
Nicene  Creed,  or  two  Gods,  "God  of  God."  The  opponents  were  anathe- 
matized as  Arians. 

II.  A.  D.  381.  Second  schism.  Tritheism.  The  opponents  were  anath- 
ematized as  Semiarians  and  Macedonians. 

III.  A.  D.  411.     Third  schism.     Opponents  were  called  Donatists. 

"IV.  A.  D.  431.  The  fourth  schism  established  Mary  as  Mother  of  God. 
Its  Disponents  were  called  Nestorians. 

V.  A.  D.  451.  The  fifth  declared  Christ  full  God  and  full  man,  creature 
n.nd  creator.     The  opponents  were  called  Eutychians. 

VI.  A.  D.  680.     Sixth.     Two  wills.     Opponents,  Monotheletes. 
VII.     A.  D.     1053.     The  seventh,  the  Greek  schism. 

VIII.     A.  D.  1529.  T  he  eighth,  Protestantism. 

THE    TRANSITION    AGE. 

For  twenty  years  the  Christians  had  now  enjoyed  tran- 
quillity, witn  a  corresponding  prosperity.  The  churches 
were  numerous  and  wealthy.  The  teachers  were  learned 
and  influential.  The  revenues  were  wide  and  abundant ; 
and  their  frequent  converts  embraced  men  of  learning  and 
nobility.  Some  of  the  emperors  had  more  than  favored  the 
true  religion  Several  kings  of  Britain  had  openly  professed 
Christianity,  and  the  famous  Queen  of  Palmyra  had  boldly 
defended  the  faith.  Churches  had  been  planted  in  all 
parts  of  the  known  world  ;  "  in  all  the  world,"  as  expressed 


THE   TRANSITION   AGE.  187 

by  ecclesiastical  writers.  The  great  dragon  of  paganism 
was  bound ;  and  the  feeble  efforts  of  Galerius  served  but 
to  show  that  the  serpent  was  not  dead. 

Galerius  first  persuaded  Diocletian  to  issue  an  edict 
of  persecution.  Then  Galerius  returning  victorious  from 
Persia,  compelled  first  Dioclesian  and  then  Maximian  to 
resign  the  purple,  and  appointed  in  their  room,  for  the 
East  Maximin  his  nephew,  and  for  the  West  Severus,  de- 
signing on  the  death  of  Constantius,  which  was  daily  ex- 
pected, to  imprison  or  slay  Oonstantine  the  people's  favor- 
ite. Constantino  was  too  shrewd  to  be  deceived ;  but, 
obtaining  the  tyrant's  consent  to  visit  his  dying  father,  he 
waited  only  till  Galerius  had  retired,  when,  not  waiting 
for  the  chances  of  the  morning,  he  set  out  for  Britain,  trav- 
eling night  and  day  to  defy  pursuit.  He  found  his  father 
yet  alive,  v/ho  appointed  Constantino  his  successor,  com- 
mending  him  to  the  army,  and  giving  him  a  dying  father's 
blessing.  The  old  emperor  Constantius  died  at  York  in 
July,  A.  D.  306.  Constantine,  by  birth  a  Briton,  was  now 
thirty-three  years  old,  in  the  prime  of  manhood.  He  did 
not  consult  the  emperor  Galerius  ;  but  divorcing  his  own 
wife,  Meiiena,  the  mother  of  his  son  Crispin,  he  married 
Fausta,  the  daughter  of  old  Maximian,  and  sister  of  the 
proud  prince,  Maxentius.  Constantine  was  the  people's 
favorite.  Superior  in  talent,  graceful  in  manners,  active 
and  vigilant;  bold  in  his  undertakings,  and  far-seeing  and 
successful  in  his  enterprises,  Galerius  found  in  him  not  only 
an  equal  but  a  superior ;  one  who  assumed  the  purple 
without  his  authority,  and  prepared  to  wear  it  without 
consulting  his  wishes.  Thus  the  cunningly  devised 
schemes  of  Galerius  all  failed,  and  instead  of  dictating  the 
movements  of  Constantine.  as  a  subject,  he  was  forced  to 
compete  with  him  as  an  emperor ;  and  instead  of  plotting 
to  keep  him  as  a  prisoner,  he  was  forced  to  plot  to  keep  his 
own  crown.  Young  Maxentius  now  announced  himself 
emperor ;  and  old  Maximian,  with  a  son  and  son-in-law 
emperors,    reassumed    his    authority ;     and    Galerius    to 


188  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

strengthen  his  party  appointed  Licinius  emperor  of  the 
East,  where  he  was  opposed  by  Maximin.  Maximian 
then  began  to  operate  against  his  son-in-law,  Constantine, 
who  at  first  dealt  leniently  with  him,  seized  and  released 
him ;  but  upon  renewed  hostilities  had  him  strangled,  A. 
T>.  308,  Galerius  humbled  by  disease  and  misfortune 
issued  at  Sardis  an  edict  favoring  the  Christians.  He  died 
A.  D.  3il.  Maximin,  the  nephew  of  Galerius,  now  formed 
a  close  alliance  with  Maxentius,  the  brother-in-law  of  Con- 
stantine, in  opposition  to  Lucinius  the  last  appointed  em- 
peror, and  assuming  authority  over  all  Asia,  declared 
war  on  Constantine.  Constantine,  then  in  the  West,  ad- 
vanced toward  Rome;  but  in  crossing  the  Alps  is  said  to 
have  had  the  famous  vision  of  the  cross,  viz  :  a  cross  in 
the  heavens,  bright  and  luminous,  with  the  words  upon  it, 
"  By  this  conquer."  He  advanced  within  two  miles  of 
Rome,  where  he  met  and  vanquished  the  army  of  Maxen- 
tius, who  in  his  flight  was  drowned  in  a  vain  attempt  to 
cross  the  Tiber  on  a  temporary  bridge.  Constantine  was 
received  at  Rome  as  a  deliverer.  Constantine  then  visited 
Licinius  at  Milan,  and  induced  him  to  publish  an  edict  of 
toleration  to  the  Christians.  Maximin  then  declared  war 
on  Licinius  and  invaded  Thrace  ;  but  was  defeated.  Li  fear 
of  capture,  he  committed  suicide  by  poison.  This  left  the 
empire  with  the  two  emperors,  viz  : 

Constantine  in  the  West  Ltcinius  hi  iTie  East 
Licinius,  jealous  of  the  growing  popularity  of  Constan- 
tine, declared  war  against  him ;  but  after  various  misfor- 
tunes, and  repeatedly  receiving  clemency,  in  his  despair 
and  ill  temper^,  he  began  to  persecute  the  Christians.  He 
induced  the  Sarmatians  to  invade  the  empire,  and  was 
finally  overthrown,  and  his  family  became  extinct.  Con- 
stantine now  avowed  himself  the  patron  of  the  Christians 
but  the  tolerator  of  all.  The  leading  Christians  professed 
alarm  at  his  edict  of  toleration  to  the  pagans;  showing  an 
evident  departure  from  the  spirit  of  the  gospel.  Constan- 
tine, now  sole  emperor,  was  admitted  into  the  bosom  of 


THE    CHURCH   TRIUMPHANT.  189 

the  church,  and  united  in  the  assemblies  of  the  faithful ; 
joining  in  prayer  with  the  brethren  ;  sitting  in  council  with 
the  bishops;  haranguing  on  different  points  in  religion 
with  the  ministers;  adding  his  imperial  influence  in  the 
celebration  of  Easter,  and  lending  the  wealth  and  influence 
of  the  empire  to  the  building  of  churches,  etc.  Reeves,  91. 
Constantine  thus  entered  upon  the  full  enjoyment  and 
life  of  a  Christian,  only  deferring  his  baptism,  in  accordance 
with  the  incoming  fashion  of  the  times,  until  old  age  or 
the  nearness  of  death  should  give  warning  of  approaching 
dissolution.  He  is  described  by  Eusebius  as  "  the  servant 
of  Christ,  dear  to  God,  endowed  with  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  a  man  of  singular  piety,  innocent  and  faithful,  relig- 
iously exact,  and  not  ashamed  of  his  profession." 

THE    CHURCH    TRIUMPHANT. 

Constantine  changed  the  whole  state  of  affairs.  He 
was  the  open  champion  of  Christianity.  He  prayed  with 
the  faithful,  disputed  with  the  bishops,  preached  on  the 
most  intricate  and  sublime  subjects,  publicly  declared 
himself  not  only  partaker,  but  in  some  measure  a  priest- 
The  office  of  SUPREME  PONTIFF,  which,  from  the  time 
of  Numa  to  that  of  Augustus,  had  always  been  exercised 
by  one  of  the  chief  senators,  was  since  Octavius  united 
with  the  imperial  dignity.  Gib.  Dec.  &  Fall,  xx.  2  :  212, 213^ 
218. 

A.  D.  323.  The  church  was  now  approaching  the  summit 
of  earthly  glory.  The  wealth  of  the  empire  was  used  by 
Constantine  with  a  convert's  zeal  to  build  up  the  new  re- 
ligion. Metropolitan  sees  commanded  princely  revenues. 
Wealth,  honor,  favor,  political  advancement,  worldly  re- 
nown, place  or  position,  was  sought  and  found,  mainly 
through  the  avenues  of  the  church.  Her  aisles  were 
crowded,  if  not  with  confessors,  with  professors.  The 
court  religion  carried  all  before  it.  Bitter  persecutors 
suddenly  became  champions  of  the  faith,  and  pagan  phi- 
losophers discovered  that  they  had  always  been  Christiana 


190  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

except  in  name.     It  is  said  that  in  "one  year  twelve  thoa 
sand  men  were  baptized  at  Rome,  besides  a  proportionate 
number  of  women  and  children,  and  that  a  white  garment 
and  twenty  pieces  of  gold  had  been  promised  by  the  em- 
peror  to    every   convert."     As  Christianity  had   become 
the    religion    of  the    empire,    the    clergy  might  claim  an 
honorable  maintenance;  but  the  wants  of  the  church  in- 
creasing with  her  grandeur,  Constantine  granted  to  all  his 
subjects  permission  to  leave  their  fortunes  to  the  church. 
The  ecclesiastical   orders    being  relieved   from  taxes  and 
state  duties,  officers  multiplied  with  the  immunities.     Let 
a  view  of  one  city  suffice.     One  bishop,  sixty  presbyters, 
one  hundred  deacons,  forty  deaconesses,  ninety  sub-dea- 
cons, one  hundred  and  ten  readers,  twenty-five  chanters, 
one  hundred  door-keepers,  and  eleven  hundred  gravedig- 
gers  served  the  church,  or  were  served  by  one  metropoli- 
tan church,  while  six  hundred  are  named  as  visitors  of  the 
sick  in  another.     A  letter  of  the  emperor  directs  the  pay- 
ment of  eighteen  thousand  pounds  sterling  to  relieve  the 
churches  of  Africa,  and  the  treasury  to  be  subject  to  fur 
ther   orders,  while  each  city  had  a  regular  allowance  of 
grain  for  ecclesiastical  charity.     The  way  of  religion  was 
made  easy  by  the  full  tide  of  popular  favor;  but  whether 
the  church  was  in  truth  converting  the  world  or  the  world 
the  church,  the  meek  and  lowly  disciple  of  Christ  was  pushed 
aside,  trampled  down,  or  lost  sight  of  in  the  contest  of  rival 
parties   for   rich   preferments,   imperial  favor,  place    and 
power.     So  great  was  the  contrast  between  the  glory  of 
the   church  and  its  former  sufferings,  that  many  suppose 
that  tlie  millennium  then  commenced.     Among   these  is 
the  eminent  and  learned  professor,  George  Bush,  of  Nevv 
York  City  University.  (See  Bush  on  the  Millennium,  p.  113.) 
But  though  the   beginning    promised  well,  no    thousand 
years   of  felicity  followed,  but  the  apocalyptical  "Beast" 
soon  turned  upon  the  church  with  all  the  fury  of  the  anni- 
hilated "D  ragon."     Gib.  D.  &  F.  xx.  2 :  216,  283. 

Socrates  says:     "The  good  emperor  being  entirely  in 


THE    CHURCH    TRIUMPHANT.  191 

"the  interests  of  Christianity,  erected  and  adorned  sever- 
"  al  magniiicent  churches,  locked  up  and  demolished  the 
"pagan  temples,  and  made  sale  of  their  images"  (p.  184.); 
"forbidding  the  use  of  sacrifices,  and  all  the  idolatrous 
"  worship,  m^^steries,  rites,  and  the  inhuman  entertainment 
"  of  the  gladiators  at  Rome.  He  was  not  only  so  just  as  to 
"  cause  whatever  honors,  privileges  or  possessions  any 
"  Christian  had  been  formerly  deprived  of  to  be  restored 
"  to  the  persons  injured,  or  their  heirs,  but  likewise  so  cor- 
"dially  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  church  that  he  took 
"  care  that  all  his  prefects  and  inferior  magistrates  sliould 
"be  Christians^  and  was  extremely  liberal  and  generous  to 
"  the  clergy."  p.  186.  "  He  exempted  all  ecclesiastical 
"  persons  from  all  taxes  and  pecuniary  duties,  he  establish- 
"  ed  the  liberty  of  appealing,  even  finally,  from  all  infe- 
'•'-rlor  officers  and  magistrates  in  the  state,  to  the  bishops 
"of  the  church  ;  all  persons  that  should  have  a  certificate 
"  from  their  bishop  of  their  being  in  the  Catholic  Church 
"  when  they  obtained  the  first  or  lesser  freedom,  he  entitled 
"  to  the  greater,  that  of  deiiizens^  and  ordained  that  all 
"determinations  of  councils  and  synods  should  be  looked 
"  upon  as  sacred  sanctions,  and  received  as  part  of  the 
"  imperial  laws.  In  short,  the  church  received  all  the 
"proofs  and  pledges  of  his  love  imaginable;  and  thus  fa- 
"  vored  and  fortified,  the  church  might  have  long  enjoyed 
"not  only  peace  and  security,  but  very  profitable  and 
"magnificent  privileges,  had  not  her  own  bowels  bred 
"  such  a  flame  in  her,  that  in  comparison  with  it,  the  worst 
"persecution  had  been  a  very  great  blessing."* 

Eusebius  says  :  "  Suddenly  then,  and  sooner  than  said, 
"those  that  but  yesterday  breathed  threats  and  destruction 
"were  no  more.  The  mighty  and  victorious  Constantine, 
"adorned  with  every  virtue  of  religion,  with  his  most  pious 
"  son,  Crispin  Cyesar,  resembling  in  all  things  his  father 
"recovered  the  East  as  his  own,  and  thus  restored  the 
"Roman  empire  to  its  ancient  state  of  one  united  body; 
"extending  their  peaceful  sway  around  the  world,  from 
"the  rising  sun  to  the  opposite  regions,  to  the  north  and 
"  the  south,  even  to  the  last  borders  of  the  declining  day. 
"  All  fear,  therefore,  of  those  who  had  afflicted  them  was 
"wholly  removed.  They  celebrated  splendid  and  festive 
"days  with  joy  and  hilarity.  All  things  were  filled  with 
"light,  and  all  who  before  were  sunk  in  sorrow,  beheld 
"each  other  with  smiling  and  cheerful  faces,  with  choirs 

*Socrate3;  by  Palmer,  p.  187. 


192  CHUKCH    HISTORY. 

"and  hymns,  in  the  cities  and  villages,  at  the  same  time 
"  they  extolled  first  of  all  God  the  universal  King,  be- 
"  cause  they  were  thus  taught ;  then  they  also  celebrated 
"  the  praises  of  the  pious  emperor,  and  with  him  all  his 
"  divinely  favored  children.  There  was  a  perfect  oblivion 
"  of  past  evils,  and  past  wickedness  was  buried  in  forget- 
"  fulness.  There  was  nothing  but  enjoyment  of  the  pres- 
"  ent  blessings,  and  expectation  of  those  yet  to  come."* 

Boyle's  Council  of  Nice,  in  Eusebius,  says:  "Several 
"  beneficial  laws  were  enacted  by  the  emperor.  He  re- 
"  called  those  who  had  been  banished  for  a  profession  of 
"  their  faith,  and  their  property  was  restored.  He  gave  direc- 
"  tion  for  enlarging  the  ancient  churches,  and  building  new 
"  and  splendid  ones.  He  commanded  that  the  clergy 
"  should  be  held  in  honor,  aiid  shielded  tlieir  persons  from 
"  indignity  and  outrage.  The  people  were  exhorted  to  re- 
"  linquish  idolatry,  and  embrace  the  true  religion,  and 
"  many  other  salutary  measures  were  adopted,  to  extend 
"  the  influence,  and  to  promote  the  welfare  of  Chrislian- 
"ity."t 

Rutter  says:  "The  church, which  had  received  so  many 
"  advantages  from  the  conversion  and  protection  of  Con- 
"stantine,  cheerfully  submitted  to  acknowledge  the  emperor 
"  as  its  supreme  Jiead^  who  chose  to  unite  the  office  of  sov- 
"  ereign  pontiff"  with  the  imperial  dignity.  No  very  material 
"  change  appears  to  have  resulted  from  this  appointment. 
"  In  some  cases  he  corrected  its  abuses,  in  others,  extended 
"  its  powers.  Whatever  respected  the  possessions,  the 
"reputation,  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  clergy,  he 
"regulated  himself.  Every  thing  relating  to  religious 
"controversies,  to  the  forms  of  divine  worship,  to  the  vices 
"of  the  ecclesiastical  oiders,  or  the  offices  of  the  priests, 
"was  submitted  to  the  bi&"hops,  or  to  the  consideration  of 
"councils.  Constantine  assumed  to  himself  the  title  of 
"  bishop,  and  regulator  of  the  external  affairs  of  the  church ; 
"  and  he  and  his  successors  convened  councils,  in  which 
"they  presided,  and  determined  every  affair  relating  to 
"  discipline."]; 

'■'Euseb.  Cruse,  p.  438. 

tHistorical  View  of  the  Council  of  Kice.  by  Isaac  Boyle,  D.  D.  Prepared  for  Cruse'B 
Eusebius,  and  published  with  that  work. 

JRutter,  Ec.  His.  p.  92. 


EMINENT   CHRISTIAN    MINISTERS    OF   THIS   PERIOD.  193 

EMINENT    CHRISTIAN    MINISTERS    OF    THIS    PERIOD. 

Alexander,  the  bishop  of  Alexandria,  was  eminent  as  a 
subtle  disputant.  Jortin  says  of  him:  '^The  editors  of 
"  Athanasius  tell  us  that  Alexander  was  as  mild  as  a  lamb. 
"  Others  will  think,  perhaps,  that  he  and  his  assessors  were 
"too  expeditious  in  passing  sentence,  and  ready  to  turn  a 
"brother  out  of  doors  without  much  ceremony."  ( ii.  26.) 
"Philostorgius  says  that  Alexander  owed  his  bishopric  to 
"  Arius,  who  might  have  been  chosen,  but  declined  it,  and 
"  preferred  Alexander  to  himself."* 

Socrates  speaks  of  his  great  piety  and  zeal  for  the 
orthodox  faith,  and  relates  that,  being  challenged  to  dis- 
pute with  a  learned  pagan,  he  prevented  him  by  saying, 
"In  the  name  of  eTesus  Christ,  I  command  thee  not  to 
sjpeahf  and  the  man  immediately  lost  the  use  of  his 
tongue.     Soc.  PaL  214. 

St.  Athanasius,  A.  D.  326  to  373.  Waddington  says : 
"  An  adversary,  dangerous  to  the  opinions  and  not  wholly 
"subject  to  the  power  of  the  sovereign,  had  been  raised 
"  up  in  the  person  of  Athanasius.  That  great  champion  of 
"  Catholicism,  the  most  distinguished  among  the  fathers  of 
"the  church,  not  by  his  writings  only,  but  by  his  adven- 
"  tures  and  liis  sufferings,  steadily  defended  the  Nicene 
"doctrine  during  forty-six  years.  He  succeeded  Alexan- 
"  der  in  the  see  of  Alexandria,  in  the  year  326." 

Gibbon:  "He  was  patient  in  labor,  jealous  of  fame, 
"  careless  of  safety,  and,  although  his  mind  was  tainted  with- 
"  the  contagion  of  fanaticism,  Athanasius  displayed  superi- 
"  ority  of  character  and  ability.  His  learning  was  much 
"less  profound  and  extensive  than  that  of  Eusebius,  of 
"  Cpesarea,  and  his  rude  eloquence  could  not  be  compared 
"with  the  polished  orations  of  Gregory  or  Basil;  but, 
"whenever  he  w^as  called  upon  to  justify  his  sentiments  or 
"his  conduct,  his  unpremeditated  style  either  was  clear, 
"forcible,  or  persuasive.  He  was  supposed  to  possess 
"two  profane  sciences — the  knowledge  of  jurisprudence 
"and  divination.  Some  fortunate  conjectures  were  attrib- 
"uted  by  his  friends  to  heavenly  insf)iration,  and  by  his 
"enemies,  to  magic." 

Jortin  (ii.  285)  says :  "Athanasius  promised  the  Emperor 
"Jovian  a  long  and  happy  reign.     But  the  good  bishop's- 

vjor.  ii.  26-30. 

13 


194  CHURCH    HISTORY.' 

*'  iiavTiKT}  failed  him  sadly,  as  the  emperor  reigned  only  one 
"  year,  and  died  in  the  flower  of  his  age." 

Haweis  says:  "His  cruelty,  attachment  to  the  monks, 
"  and  some  want  of  Christian  meekness,  his  friends  will 
"  not  vindicate.  The  torrent  of  superstition  bore  him 
"  down,  and  his  temper  was  not  always  proof  against  prov- 
"  ocation.  I  shall  look  for  greater  Christians  in  humbler 
"life.  No  where  for  a  more  able  defender  of  the  cause  of 
"God  and  of  truth.  I  revere  and  honor  Athanasius,  but  1 
"  hear  his  representations  of  his  enemies  witii  the  suspicion 
"  that  a  knowledge  of  my  own  heart  compels  me  to  exercise. 
"  That  he  was  not  exempt  from  many  things  highly  blama- 
*'ble,  is  certain;  yet,  if  we  dare  not  palliate  his  faults, 
"  candor  forbids  severe  reprehension,  and  wishes  to  impute 
*'  them  rather  to  the  times  than  to  the  man.  Anthony's 
"life,  by  Athanasius,  is  as  mortifying  a  proof  of  the  spirit 
*' of  the  biographer,  as  of  the  hero  of  the  tale,  and  an 
^'afflicting  evidence  of  the  piety  then  had  in  the  highest 
*' estimation.  I  turn  from  it  in  disgust,  and  am  amazed 
"  that  a  man  of  Mr.  Milner's  spirit  can  affect  to  gloss  over 
"it  with  lines  of  palliation,  if  not  of  approbation.  The 
*' pride  and  self-righteousness  of  the  human  heart  ought 
"  not  to  be  so  treated,  to  exalt  such  a  character.  Even 
"  Athanasius  can  report  miracles  the  most  absurd,  ridicu- 
"  lous,  and  contemptible."* 

Moshiem  says:  "Invincibly  firm  in  his  purpose,  he  was 
"  deaf  to  the  most  powerful  solicitations  and  entreaties. 
"  He  is  celebrated  on  account  of  his  learned  and  pious 
"  labors." 

Milner  says:  "I  run  through  his  works,  and  find  nothing 
"important  in  them;  'they  are  wanting  in  meekness;'  and 
"  his  treatise  on  the  unpardonable  sin  is  a  monument  of 
"infirmity.  It  is  wonderful  that  he  should  be  betrayed 
"into  such  an  interpretation  of  the  unpardonable  sin." 
(i.  324.) 

"■  Arius,"  Neander  says,  "  was  a  presbyter  of  the  Alex- 
"  andrian  Church,  and  presided  over  an  independent  church, 
"which  went  by  the  name  of  Baucalis.  Being  a  rigid  as- 
"cetic,  wearing  their  pallium,  he  had  probably  great  influ- 
"  ence  with  his  community,  as  this  was  a  mode  of  life, 
"which  there  easily  procured  the  highest  respect."  (ii. 
365.)  "He  was  a  scholar  of  the  Presbyter  Lucian,  of  An 
*'  tioch.     From  this  school  he  took  that  direction  which  led 

*Hawie9,  i.  271,  283,  287,  289. 


EMINENT    CHRISTIAN   MINISTERS   OP   THIS    PERIOD.  195 

"him  to  place  the  free  ,c;rammatical  interpretation  of  the 
"Bible  at  the  basis  of  his  doctrinal  system.  In  the  An- 
*'tiochean  school,  too,  he  probably  took  a  direction  in  op- 
"  position  to  the  doctrines  of  Paul  of  Samosata.  which  led 
"  him  to  jxive  particular  prominence  to  the  doctrine  to  the 
"distinction  of  hypostases,  and  what  was  connected  there- 
"with,  to  assume  at  the  same  time  a  polemic  attitude 
'against  the  nomoovs'wn.''''  (ii.  301.)  "  Tiie  above  men- 
Hioned  council  at  Antioch,  in  269,  in  the  heart  of  the  po- 
"lemical  opposition  to  monarchism,  was  moved  to  con- 
"demn  the  expression,  Ilomoousion.''''  i.  606. 

Gibbon  says  of  Arius:  "His  most  implacable  adver- 
"  saries  have  acknowledged  the  learning  and  blameless  life 
"  of  that  eminent  presbyter.  The  figure  and  manners  of 
"  Arius,  the  character  and  numbers  of  his  first  proselytes, 
"  are  painted  in  very  lively  colors  by  Epiphanius."  ii.  243. 

Mosheim.  "  He  was  a  man  of  subtle  turn,  and  remark- 
"able  for  his  eloquence,  possessing  great  firmness  and  coii- 
"stancy  of  mind."     Mosheim,  i.  124,  125. 

Stowe:  "Some  of  Arius'  writings,  consisting  principally 
"of  poems  and  letters,  are  still  extant,  and  contain  a  vari- 
"ety  of  important  testimony  which  there  is  no  reason  to 
"  impeach."     Stowe  on  the  Bible,  105. 

Waddinglon  thus  reports  the  words  of  Maimbourg,  the 
Roman  Catholic.  Waddington  says  :  "  So  far  from  joining 
"in  the  anathemas  which  are  commonly  heaped  upon  him, 
"  we  shall  perform  a  more  grateful  office  in  bearing  testi- 
"mony  to  the  purity  of  his  moral  life,  and  the  probable 
"  sincerity  of  his  religious  opinions.  Respecting  the  less 
"  important  circumstances  of  his  manners  and  conversation, 
"  we  shall  be  contented  to  adopt  the  language  of  a  writer 
"  who  has  seldom  treated  either  him  or  his  followers 
"with  any  show  of  candor  or  justice.  'Arius  made  use  of 
'•  the  advantages  he  was  master  of  by  art  and  nature,  to 
"gain  the  people;  for  it  is  certain  that  he  had  a  great 
"many  talents  which  rendered  him  capable  of  nicely  in- 
"sinuating  himself  into  their  good  opinion  and  affections. 
"He  was  tall  of  stature,  and  of  a  very  becoming  make, 
"grave  and  serious  in  his  carriage,  with  a  certain  air  of 
"severity  in  his  looks,  which  made  him  pass  for  a  man  of 
"  great  virtue  and  austerity  of  life.  Yet  this  severity  did 
"not  discourage  those  who  accosted  him;  because  it  was 
"softened  by  an  extraordinary  delicacy  in  his  features  that 
"gave  luster  to  his  whole  person,  and  had  something  in  it 


196  CIIITRCII    HISTORY. 

"  SO  sweet  and  engaging,  as  was  not  easily  to  be  resisted. 
"  His  garb  was  modest,  but  withal  neat,  and  such  as  was 
"usually  worn  by  those  who  were  men  of  quality  as  well 
»'as  learning.  His  manner  of  receiving  people  was  very 
"  courteous  and  very  ingratiating,  through  his  agreeable 
"  way  of  entertaining  those  who  came  to  him  upon  any 
"  occasion.  In  short,  notwithstanding  his  mighty  [great] 
"  seriousness,  and  the  severity  and  strictness  of  his  mien, 
"  he  perfectly  understood  how  to  soothe  and  flatter,  with  all 
"imaginable  wit  and  address,  those  whom  he  had  a  mind 
"to  bring  over  to  his  opinion  and  engage  in  his  party.'" 
Maimbourg,  Histoire  de  I'Arianisme,  Tom,  i.  p.  20,  Wad- 
dington,  p.  94. 

"EusKBius  Pamphilus,  bishop  of  Caesarea  in  Palestine," 
Mosheim  says,  "was  a  man  of  immense  reading,  justly  fa- 
"  mous  for  his  profound  knowledge  of  ecclesiastical  history, 
"and  singularly  versed  in  other  branches  of  literature,  more 
"  especially  in  all  the  different  parts  of  sacred  erudition," 
-  Waddington  says:  "Eusebius,  of  Csesarea,  was  extremely 
"diligent  and  learned,  and  the  author  (says  Jerome)  of 
"  innumerable  volumes.  His  ecclesiastical  history  and  life 
"  of  Constantine,  furnishes  the  best  lights  which  we  have, 
"  respecting  his  own  times;  and  with  our  only  consecutive 
"  narrative  of  the  previous  fortunes  of  Christianity,  He  has 
"  faithfully  discharged  his  historical  duties." 

Milner  says:  "About  this  time,  340,  died  the  famous 
"  Eusebius,  of  Caesarea,  He  was  the  most  learned  of  all 
"  the  Christians,' 

Gibbon  says  of  Athanasius:  "His  learning  was  much 
"  less  profound  and  extensive  than  that  of  Eusebius,  of 
"  Cassarea,  Lactantius  adorned  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel 
"  with  the  eloquence  of  Cicero,  and  Eusebius  consecrated 
"  the  learning  and  philosophy  of  the  Greeks  to  the  set-vice 
"  of  religion," 

"  This  famous  prelate,  a  great  favorite  at  court,  remark- 
"  able  for  his  knowledge,  reading,  and  ecclesiastical  inves- 
"  tigation,  stands  eminent  among  the  first  authorities  for 
"  church  history,"* 

Stowe  says:  "Eusebius,  surnamed  Pam])Jdlus^  from  his 
"  friend  the  martyr,  was  born  in  Palestine,  in  the  year  264, 
"  and  died  in  340,  He  is  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  early 
"  church  historians,  and  has  been,  perhaps,  sufficiently 
"  characterized  in  the  second  chapter  of  this  work.     He 

^•Gib.  il.  211,  259. 


HISTORICAL    VIEW   FROM   GIBBON.  197 

'  was  bishop  of  Cossarea  in  Palestine,  an  amazingly  diligent 
'' reader,  amiable,  unprejudiced,  and  candid."  (115.)  "His 
"  numerous  historical  writings  are  still  held  in  great  esteem, 
"and  there  is  nothing  that  can  supply  their  place.  Not- 
"  withstanding  all  that  partisan  zeal  has  from  time  to  time 
"  alleged  against  him,  there  is  no  historian  equally  volumin- 
*'  ous  on  whom  fewer  errors  can  be  proved." 

SchafF  says:  "The  title  father  of  church  history  belongs 
*^  undoubtedly  to  the  learned,  candid,  and  moderate  Ense- 

*  bins,  in  the  same  sense  in  which  Herodotus  is  called  the 

*  father  of  profane  history.  He  had  a  mild  disposition, 
''  love  of  peace,  and  aversion  to  doctrinal  controversies." 

"  Eusebius  was  laborious  and  industrious,  and  must  have 
"spent  much  time  and  pains  in  reading,  collecting,  and 
"digesting;  but  little  in  stjde."* 

"I  doubt  not  but  his  many  amiable  qualities  caused  him 
"to  be  set  down  in  the  number  of  saints,  in  some  ancient 
"  martyrologies.  It  is  true  that  he  hath  not  remained  in. 
"quiet  possession  of  this  title ;  but,  in  my  opinion,  it  were 
"temerity  to  judge  him  absolutely  unworthy  of  it.^'f 

Osiuj  was  bishop  of  Cordova,  in  Spain.  He  "preferred 
"  the  pastoral  care  of  the  whole  church  to  the  government 
"of  a  particular  diocese."  "  Osius  was  accused,  perhaps 
"  unjustly,  of  retiring  from  court  with  a  very  ample  for- 
"tune."  D.  &  F.  ii.  211.  He  was  a  great  favorite  with  the 
emperor ;    and  generally  respected,  honored,  and  beloved. 

HISTORICAL    VIEW    FROM    GIBBON. 

"From  the  age  of  Constantine  to  that  of  Clovis  and 
"Theodoric,  the  temporal  interests  both  of  Romans  and 
"  barbarians  were  deeply  involved  in  the  theological  dis- 
"  putes  of  Arianism.  The  historian  may,  therefore,  be  per- 
"  mitted  respectfully  to  withdraw  the  vail  of  the  sanc- 
"  tuary  and  to  deduce  the  progress  of  reason  and  faith,  of 
"  error  and  passion,  from  the  school  of  Plato,  to  the  de- 
"  cline  and  fall  of  the  empire.  The  genius  of  Plato,  in- 
"  formed  by  his  own  meditation,  or  by  the  traditional  knowl- 
"  edge  of  the  priests  of  Egypt,  had  ventured  to  explore 
"the  mysterious  nature  of  tlie  Deity."  (Gib.  ii.  235.)  "The 
"  Athenian  sage  was  incapable  of  conceiving  how  the 
"simple  unity  of  his  essence  could  admit  the  variety  of 
"  distinct  and  successive  ideas  which  compose  the  model 

"  Jortin,  L  92.  +Dupin, 


198  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"  of  the  intellectual  world  ;  how  a  being  purely  incorporeal 
*'  could  execute  that  perfect  model,  and  mold  with  a  plas- 
"  tic  hand  the  rude  and  independent  chaos.  The  vain  hope 
"of  extricating  himself  from  these  difficulties,  which  must 
"  ever  oppress  the  feeble  powers  of  the  human  mind,  might 
"induce  Plato  to  consider  the  divine  nature  under  the 
*'  threefold  modification  of 

"I.     The  First  Cause. 
"II.     The  Reason,  or  Zo(^  05. 
"  III.     And  the  Soul  or  Spirit  of  the  Universe. 

"  His  poetical  imagination  sometimes  fixed  and  anima- 
"  ted  these  metaphysical  abstractions  ;  the  three  archical, 
*'or  original  principles,  were  represented  as  three  Gods, 
"united  with  each  other  by  a  mysterious  and  ineffable 
"generation;  and  the  Logos  was  more  particularly  consid- 
"  ered  under  the  more  accessible  character  of  the  Son  of  an 
"  eternal  Father,  and  the  Creator  and  the  Governor  of  the 
"world.  Such  appear  to  have  been  the  secret  doctrines 
"  which  were  cautiously  whispered  in  the  gardens  of  the 
"Academy;  and  which,  according  to  the  more  recent  dis- 
"  ciples  of  Plato,  could  not  be  perfectly  understood,  till 
"  after  an  insidious  study  of  thirty  years."  (ii.  236.)  "The 
"  theology  of  Plato  might  have  been  forever  confounded 
"with  the  philosophical  visions  of  the  Academy,  the  Porch 
"•  and  the  Lyceum,  if  the  name  and  the  divine  attributes 
"of  the  Logos  had  not  been  confirmed  by  the  celestial  pen 
"  of  the  last  and  most  sublime  of  the  Evangelists."  (ii. 
237.)  "Theophilus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  was  the  first 
"who  employed  the  word  Triad,  or  Trinity,  that  ab- 
"  stract  term  which  was  already  familiar  to  the  schools 
"  of  philosophy.  The  same  subtle  and  profound  Cjuestions 
"  concerning  the  nature,  the  generation,  the  distinction, 
"  and  the  equality  of  the  three  divine  persons  of  the  mys- 
"  terious  Triad,  or  Trinity,  Avere  agitated  in  the  philosoph- 
"  ical  and  in  the  Christian  schools  of  Alexandria."  (ii.  239.) 
"The  trinitarian  controversy  was  revived  in  the  ancient 
"  seat  of  Platonism,  the  learned,  the  opulent,  the  tumultu- 
"  ous  city  of  Alexandria,  and  {\\q  flame  of  religious  discord 
"  was  rapidly  communicated  from  the  school  to  the  clergy, 
"  the  people,  the  province,  and  the  e^st.  The  abstruse 
"question  of  the  eternity  of  the  L^ogos  was  agitated  in  ec- 
"  clesiastical  conferences  and  popular  sermons,  and  the 
"  heterodox  opinions  of  Arius  were  soon  made  public  by 
"  his  own  zeal,  and  by  that  of  his  adversaries.     His  most 


THE    TilllEE   TUEOillES    OF   THE    TRINITY.  199 

« implacable  adversaries  have  acknowledged  the  learning 
"and  blameless  life  of  that  eminent  presbyter,  Vf^ho,  in  a 
"  for.mer  election,  had  declared,  and  perhaps  generously 
"  declined,  his  pretensions  to  the  episcopal  throne.  His 
"  competitor,  Alexander,  assumed  the  office  of  his  judge." 
(ii.  243.)  '-Arius  reckoned  among  his  immediate  followers 
"  two  bishops  of  Egypt,  seven  presbyters,  twelve  deacons, 
*'  and,  what  may  appear  almost  incredible,  seven  hun- 
"  dred  virgins.  A  large  majority  of  the  bishops  of  xlsia 
"  appeared  to  support  or  favor  his  cause,  and  their  meas- 
"  ures  were  conducted  by  Eusebius,  of  Cassarea,  the  most 
"  learned  of  the  Christian  prelates,  and  by  Eusebius,  of 
"Nicomedia,  who  had  acquired  the  reputation  of  a  states- 
"  man  without  forfeiting  that  of  a  saint."     ii.  243 

THE    THREE   THEORIES    OF    THE   THINITY. 

"The  human  understanding  was  capable  of  forming 
"  three  distinct,  though  imperfect  systems  concerning  the 
"nature  of  the  divine  Trinity;  and  it  was  pronounced  that 
"none  of  these  systems  in  a  pure  and  absolute  sense  were 
"  exempt  from  heresy." 

"  I.  According  to  the  first  hypothesis,  which  was  main- 
"  tained  by  Arius  and  his  disciples,  the  Logos  was  a  depend- 
"  ent  and  spontaneous  production,  created  from  nothing 
"  by  the  will  of  the  Father.  The  kSon,  by  whom  all  things 
"  were  made,  had  been  begotten  before  all  worlds,  and  the 
"  longest  of  the  astronomical  periods  could  be  compared 
"  only  as  a  fleeting  moment  to  the  extent  of  his  duration ; 
"yet  this  duration  was  not  infinite;  and  there  had  been  a 
"time  which  preceded  the  ineff"abie  generation  of  the 
'■'■  Logos.  On  this  only  begotten  Son  the  Almighty  Father 
"  had  transffirred  his  ample  Spirit,  and  impressed  the  eff"ul- 
"  gence  of  his  glory.  Visible  image  of  invisible  perfection, 
"  he  saw  at  an  immeasurable  distance  beneath  his  feet,  the 
"thrones  of  the  brightest  archangels,  yet  he  shone  only 
"with  a  reflected  light,  and  like  the  sons  of  the  Roman 
"  emperors,  who  were  invested  with  the  titles  of  Cgesar  or 
"  Augustus,  he  governed  the  universe  in  obedience  to  the 
"  will  of  his  Father  and  Monarch."     ii.  224. 

"  II.  In  the  second  hypothesis  the  Logos  possessed  all 
"  the  inherent  incommunicable  perfections,  which  religion 
"  and  philosophy  appropriate  to  the  Supreme  God.  Three 
"distinct  and  infinite  minds  or  substances, three    coequal 


200  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

"and  coeternal  beings  composed  the  divine  essence; 
"  and  it  would  have  implied  contradictions  that  any  of 
"  them  should  not  have  existed,  or  that  they  should  ever 
"cease  to  exist.  The  advocates  of  a  system  which  seemed 
"  to  establish  three  independent  Deities,  attempted  to  pre- 
"  serve  the  unity  of  the  First  Cause,  so  conspicuous  in  the 
"world,  by  the  perpetual  concord  of  tlieir  administration, 
"and  the  essential  agreement  of  their  will.  A  faint  re- 
" semblance  of  this  unity  of  action  may  be  discovered  in 
"the  societies  of  men  and  even  animals.  The  causes  which 
"  disturb  their  harmony,  proceed  only  from  the  imperfec- 
"  tion  and  inequality  of  their  faculties,  but  the  Omnipo- 
"  tence  which  is  guided  by  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness, 
"can  not  fail  of  choosing  the  same  means  for  the  accom- 
"plishment  of  the  same  ends." 

"  III.     Three  beings,  who,  by  the  self-derived  necessity 
"of  their    existence,    possess  all  the  divine  attributes  in 
"the  most  perfect  degree;  who  are  eternal  in   duration, 
"infinite  in  space,  and  intimately  present  to  each  other, 
"and  to  the  whole  universe,  irresistibly  force  themselves 
"on  the  astonished  mind,  as  one  and  the  same  being,  who, 
"in  the  economy  of  grace,  as  well  as  in  that  of  nature, 
"may  manifest  himself  under  different  forms,  and  be  con- 
"sidered  under  different  aspects.      By    this    hypothesis,  a 
"real  substantial  Trinity  is  refined  into  a  trinity  of  names, 
"and  abstract  modifications  which  exist  only  in  the   mind 
"which  couceives  them.     The  Logos  is  no  longer  a  person 
"but  an  attribute,  and  it   is   only  in    a  figurative    sense 
"  that  the  epithet  of  Son  can  be  applied  to  the  eternal 
"reason,  which  was  with  God  from  the  beginning,  and  by 
"  which,  not  by  wiiom,  all  things  were  made.     The  incar- 
"  nation  of  the  Logos  is  reduced  to  a  mere  inspiration  of 
"the  divine  wisdom  which  filled  the  soul,  and  directed  all 
"  the    actions    of  the   man   Jesus.      Thus    after   revolving 
"round  the  theological  circle  we  are  surprised  to  find  that 
"the  Sabellian  ends  where  the  Ebionite  begun,"    (that  is 
the  Huuianitarian  began  with  a  mere  man  sacrifice,  and  the 
Trinitarian  ends  there),  "and  the  incomprehensible  mys- 
"tery,  which  excites  our  adoration,  eludes  our  inquiry." 
Gib.'D.  &  F.  ii.  245. 

GIBBON   MISSES    THE    TRUE    VIEW. 

The  careful  reader  will  see  that  Gibbon  set  out  to  elu- 


GIBBON    MISSES    THE    TRUE    VIEW.  201 

cidate  three  views  of  the  Trinity,  but  his  III.  proved  to  be 
only  consequences  drawn  from  his  II.    These  are  his  three: 
I.     God ;  and  a  Created  Son  of  God. 
n.     God;  and  two  other  beings,  coexistent  and  equal 
with  the  Father. 

III.  The  consequence  of  the  theory,  viz:  These  two  per- 
sons being-  equally  God,  there  are  three  Gods,  or,  being 
only  duplicates  in  our  own  minds,  the  three  are  but  one  God. 
To  these  which  are  one  God,  and  no  more,  add  the  human 
Christ,  and  this  model,  or  Sabellian  trinity,  ends  in  Ebion- 
itism,  or  Humanitarianism ;  or  the  old  doctrine  of  Paul 
of  Samosata  condemned  in  2G9.  But  the  true  doctrine 
waits  to  fill  its  place  in  the  third  proposition,  viz: 

III.  God;  and  God's  Son;  incomprehensible;  the  only 
begotten  of  the  Father,  in  whom  all  his  Father's  glories 
shine;  and  than  whom  the  Father  only  is  "greater."  This 
view,  feebly  and  imperfectly  stated,  but  capable  of  infinite 
correction  and  elucidation,  is  that  which  the  "  dominant 
party,"  the  "  peace-loving  party,"  contended  for. 

"  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity^''  says  Neander,  "  does  not 
"  strictly  belong  to  the  fundamental  articles  of  the  Chris- 
"  tian  faith,  as  appears  sufficiently  evident  from  the  fact 
"  that  it  is  expressly  held  forth  in  no  one  (particular)  pas- 
"  sage  of  the  New  Testament:  for  the  only  one  in  which 
"this  is  done,  the  passage  relating  to  the  three  that  bear 
"record,!  John  5:  7,  is  undoubtedly  spurious,  and  its  un- 
"  genuine  shape  testifies  to  the  fact  how  foreign  such  a 
"collocation  is  from  the  style  of  the  New  Testament 
"Scriptures.  We  find  in  the  New  Testament  no  other 
"fundamental  article,  besides  that  of  which  the  Apostle 
"  says,  that  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay,  than  that 
"which  is  laid,  which  is  Christ  Jesus,  1  Cor.  3:  and  Christ 
"himself  designated  as  the  foundation  of  his  religion,  the 
"faith  in  the  only  true  God,  and  in  Jesus  Christ  whom  he 
had  sent.     John,  chapter  17:  3.     Neander  I.  572. 

Neander  says  again,  "The  trinity  constituted  from  the 
begining  the  fundamental  consciousness  of  the  Catholic 
Church.     Neander  I.  172-73. 

It  does  not  follow  that  Christ  was  a  mere  Creature. 
Yet  in  the  economy  of  salvation  three   divine   names 


202  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

appear  upon  a  plane  of  sameness  of  nature,  and  in  many 
respects  an  equality  of  glory;  which  forever  exalts  the 
names  tatlier^  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  far  aboveall  crea- 
tures, and  attaches  to  them  a  divine  honor. 

boyle's  history  of  the  nicene  council. 

Boyle  thus  speaks  of  the  origin  of  the  great  contro- 
versy : 

Eusebius  says  :  "  Alexander,  bishop  of  Alexandria,  in 
'Egypt,  disputing  one  day  in  the  presence  of  his  presby- 
'  ters  and  other  clergy,  on  the  subject  of  the  three  divine 
'  persons,  and  lei7ig  desirous  of  making  a  display  of  his 
^knowledge,  remarked  that  in  the  Trinity  there  was  a 
'  unity.  Arius,  one  of  the  presbyters,  who  was  well  versed 
'  in  the  art  of  reasoning,  and  in  metaphysical  distinctions, 
'  thinking  that  the  bishop  was  desirous  of  introducing  the 
'  opinion  of  Sabellius  of  Lybia,  inclined  to  an  error  directly 
'opposed  to  it."  [Note.  "Sabellius  believed  in  ii  modal 
'  trinity,  considering  the  Son  and  Holy  Spirit  as  different 
'  manifestations,  only  of  the  Godhead,  and  not  as  separate 
'  persons.")  "  Arius  replied,  with  great  asperity,  that  if 
'  the  Father  begat  the  Son,  the  latter  must  have  had  a  be- 
'  ginning."  p.  6. 

Neander  j)reserves  the  words  of  Arius.  "  Oi;«  r^v  ttqiv 
"  yevvrjdq  aXk  7]v  ttote  'ore  ova  r/v.,"*  i.  e.,  He  was  not  before 
he  was  begotten,  otherwise  he  was  when  he  was  not. 

Such  was  Arianism. 

Alexander  said:  •  The  Son  is  from  all  eternity,  immu- 
"  table,  and  perfectly  like  tiie  Father  in  all  things,  except- 
"  ing  that  Ae  is  not  unbegotten,  or  self-existing,  that  upon 
"this  account  the  Father  is  greater  than  the  Son,  and  the 
"  Son  is  of  a  middle  nature  between  the  First  Cause  of 
"  all  things  and  the  creatures  which  from  a  state  of  non- 
"  existence  were  called  into  being.'"     Jor.  li.  28. 

Such  was  the  doctrine  of  Alexander,  and  such  the  dif- 
ference. Jortinsays:  '■'■  Without  henignity  and  grains  of 
alloicance,  Alexander  himself  will  not  be  much  better 
than  the  semi-Arians."  (Jor.  ii.  29.)  Alexander  called  God 
"  the  Father  of  the  God  Logos,  Rarei)  rov  deov  Aoyov." 

Socrates,  the  ancient  ecclesiastical  historian,  as  trans- 
lated  by  Palmer,  says:    "Alexander   and   his  presbyters 

<'Nean.  i.  606. 


THE    MOST   LEARNED    AND    MOST    ORTHODOX.  203 

"  were  exercising  themselves  one  day  in  a  disputative  way 
"  upon  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  Arius,  one  of  the  pres- 
"  byters,  a  subtle  disputant,  pretended  to  be  apprehensive 
"  that  the  bishop^s  dicourse  tended  to  Sabellianism,  and 
"  carried  his  own  to  a  contrary  extreme,  with  no  little  ve- 
"  hemence,  alleging  that  if  the  Father  begot  the  Son,  he 
"that  was  begotten  had  a  beginning  of  existence;  that, 
"  therefore,  there  was  a  time  when  the  Son  was  not."  p. 
188. 

•the    most    learned    and   MOST    ORTHODOX   JORTIN. 

Jortin  remarks :  "  About  the  same  time  brake  out  the 
"  Arian  controversy,  which  made  more  noise  and  did  more 
"mischief.  It  was  the  occasion  of  innumerable  lies,  slan- 
"ders,  forgeries,  pretended  miracles,  persecutions,  banish- 
"  ments,  seditions  and  murders,  of  many  false  and  partial 
"histories,  and  of  a  multitude  of  councils,  which  produced 
"  only  confusion  and  discord.  An  evil  demon,  says  Euse- 
"  bius,  who  envied  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  church, 
"  set  us  at  variance."  "Alexander,  the  bishop  of  Alexan- 
"  dria,  and  Arius,  who  was  a  presbyter  in  his  diocese,  dis- 
"puted  together  about  the  nature  of  Christ,  and  the  bish- 
"op  being  displeased  at  the  notions  of  Arius,  and  finding 
"  that  they  were  adopted  by  other  persons,  vias  very  an- 
"<7^\V-"  Says  Socrates,  "  TTpo^ 'opyT/v  t;^a7TTeTat."(HG  is  inflamed 
witii  passion.)  ''He  conunanded  Arius  to  come  over  to 
"  his  sentiments,  and  to  quit  his  own,  as  if  a  man  could 
"change  his  opinions  a?  easily  as  he  can  change  his  coat. 
'-'•rov  Keqiov  'ojwtcog  (pQoveiv  e/cfiAeucre,"  (Commanded  Arius  to 
think  in  like  manner.)  "Pie  then  called  a  council  of  war, 
•'  consisting  of  near  one  hundred  bishops,  and  deposed,  ex- 
"  communicated,  and  anathematized  Arius,  and  with  him 
"several  ecclesiastics,  two  of  whom  were  bishops," 

" /ZZ«  dies  primus  leti  primusque  Tnalorum  causa  fuitP 
(That  first  day  was  the  cause  of  ruin  and  misfortune.)  "The 
"Benedictine  editors  of  Athannsius  tell  us  that  Alexander 
"  was  as  mild  as  a  laml),  mr  mitis  et  pads  a/mansy  (A 
man  mild  and  desirous  of  peace.)  "Others  witU  think  that 
he  and  his  assessors  were  too  expeditious  in  passing  sen- 
tence, and  ready  to  turn  a  brother  out  of  doors  without 
much  ceremony." 

'^Collige  sarcinulas,  exclamat  Piccsiil,  et  exiocius,  el  propera."     Jor.  ii.  27, 
(Collect  your  baggage,  exclaims  the  President,  and  go  quickly  and  hasten.) 


204         •  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"  Alexander  then  wrote  a  circular  letter  to  all  bishops, 
"in  which  he  represented  Arius  and  his  partisans  as  her- 
'•  etics,  apostates,  blasphemers,  enemies  of  God,  fnll  of 
"impudence  and  impiety,  forerunners  of  antichrist,  imita- 
"  tors  of  Judas,  and  men  whom  it  was  not  lawful  to  salute 
"or  bid  God  speed.  Yet  Sozomen  acknowledges  that  they 
"  were  learned  men,  and  in  all  appearanoe  good  men. 
"  Guin  igitur  Alexander  multos  sanctioris  vitce  specie 
'■'■  venerahiles,  et  dicendi  arte  pollentes  Arianis  favere  an- 
'-^ imadverteret,  acprceclpue  Eusehium,  qui  tunc  tempo- 
'"'-ris  Nicomediensem  Ecclesiam  guhernabai,  viruin  9octis- 
'"'' simum,  m.agiiceque  in  palatio  auctoritatis,  cunctis  iihi- 
"  que  episcopis  scrlpset^  necum  illis  commiinicarentP 
(When,  therefore,  Alexander  perceived  that  many  venera- 
ble ones,  of  such  holy  life  apparently,  and  powerful  in  the 
art  of  speaking,  favored  the  Arians,  and  especially  Euse- 
bius,  who  at  that  time  was  governing  the  Nicomedian 
Church,  a  most  learned  man  and  of  great  authority  in 
court,  he  wrote  to  all  the  bishops  everywhere  that  they 
should  not  communicate  with  them.)     Soz.  i.  15. 

"  At  vero  Eusehius  et  alii  quidam  Orientalium partixim, 
"  Episcopi^  quitum  dootrinoe  turn  sanctiatatis  causa  per 
'■''id  tempus  caleherimi  hahehantury  iii.  18.  (But  truly 
Eusebius,  and  certain  other  bishops  of  the  oriental  parts, 
who  were  held  the  most  celebrated  at  that  tiuie  by  reason 
both  of  learning  and  sancity.)  "Theodoret  himself  says  of 
"  Basilius  Ancyranus  and  Eustathius  Sebastenus,  who  were 
"Semi-Arian  bishops,  Porro  amho  familiar es  erant  Imperi- 
^^atori  {Constantio)  et  oh  eximiain  vitce  sanctimoniam  sum- 
^'''Tnaap'udcum  anctorita,te  et  jiducia  pollehantP  ii.  25.  (Be.- 
sidss  both  were  friends  of  the  emperor  (Constnntio)  and 
possessed  the  highest  authority  with  him,  and  confidence 
on  account  of  excellent  sanctity  of  life.)  "There  is  no 
"reason  to  doubt  the  probity  and  sincerity  of  those  who 
"  opposed  Alexander,  and  the  Nicene  fathers  ;  for  what  did 
"they  get  by  it,  besides  obloquy  and  banishment?  Many 
"good  men  were  engaged  on  both  sides  of  the  controver- 
"  sy:  so  it  was  in  the  fourth  century,  and  so  it  has  been 
"ever  since."  Jor.  i.  25-27. 

"Philostorgius  says  that  one  Alexander  Baucalis  was 
"  the  incendiary  who  stirred  up  the  unhappy  quarrel  be- 
"tween  Alexander  and  Arius.  He  also  tells  us  that  Alex- 
"ander,  of  Alexandria,  owed  his  bishopric  to  Arius,  who 
"  might  have  been  chosen,  but  he  declined  it,  and  prefer- 
"red  Alexander  to  himself."  Jor.  ii.  30. 


CHARACTER    OP    THE    ARIAN    BISHOrS.  205 

Pliilostorgius  was  an  Avian  historian.  It  is  Jortin 
who  here  quotes  him.  His  writings  are  lost.  Of  course 
his  history  was  burnt  by  the  Romans  with  all  other  Arian 
books.  Eusebius  escaped  by  signing  the  Ilomoousion.,  or 
we  would  have  no  historian  for  the  first  fonr  hundred 
years,  as  Hegissippus,  Easebius,  and  Philostorgius,  the 
three  oldest,  were  none  of  them  Trinitarians.  The  history 
of  Eusebius  brought  ns  down  to  the  fourth  century,  and 
Philostorgius  from  A.  D.  300  to  A.  D.  425.  The  few  ex- 
tracts saved  from  Philostorgius  are  made  by  Photius,  who 
begins  the  extracts  thus : 

"  The  impious  wretch.,  the  lim\  the  eneimj  of  God.,  tl\e 
"  dotard.,  etc.,  smjs  so  and  so.''^  "  With  all  his  defects,  his 
"  credulity  and  partiality  to  his  sect  (of  which  he  had  a 
"large  share),  it  is  to  be  wished  that  we  had  Philostor- 
"gius  entire."  "■  It  would  not  be  amiss  to  have  one  Arian 
"historian,  to  compare  with  the  Consubstantialists.  He 
"had  picked  np  several  miracles  wrought  by  Arian  bish- 
"  ops.  The  IIo7noousions  rejected  them  with  disdain,  and 
"yet  boasted  of  miracles  equally  improbable."  Jor.  ii.  122. 

One  preserved  by  the  great  Dr.  Stanley  will  bear  re- 
peating. It  is  told  of  the  "Old  Shepherd,"  Bishop  Spyri- 
dion,  and  other  orthodox  bishops. 

"One  night,  he,  with  a  cavalcade  of  orthodox  bishops, 
"arrived  at  a  caravansary,  where,  as  it  so  chanced,  a  party 
"  of  Arians  were  assembled  also  on  their  way  to  Nicssa. 
"The  Arians  determined  to  seize  this  opportunity  of  inter- 
"  cepting  the  further  progress  of  so  formidable  an  acces- 
"  sion  to  their  rivals.  Accordingly,  in  the  dead  of  nights, 
"they  cut  olf  the  heads  of  all  the  horses  belonging  to 
"  Spyridion  and  his  companions.  When,  as  is  the  custom 
"in  Oriental  journeying,  the  travelers  rose  to  start  before 
"  break  of  day,  the  orthodox  bishops  were  dismayed  at  the 
"  discovery  of  what  had  befallen  their  steeds.  A  word 
"from  Spyridion,  however,  was  sufficient  to  rectify  the  diffi- 
"culty.  He  replaced  the  decapitated  heads,  and  his  party 
"proceeded  on  their  journey.  When  day  broke  they  found 
"that  the  miracle,  ijerformed  in  the  dark  and  in  haste,  had 
"  restored  the  heads  at  random ;  black  heads  to  white 
"shoulders,  white  heads  to  black  shoulders;  in  short,  a 
''caravan  of  piebald  horses."     pp.  125,  126. 


206  CHURCH    IIISTORr 

-'Easebius,  of  Nicoraedia,  and  Eusebius,  the  historian, 
''endeavored  to  pacify  Alexander,  and  to  persuade  him  to 
"make  up  the  quarrel,  and  Constantine  sent  a  letter  by 
"  the  illustrious  liosius,  of  Corduba,  to  Alexander  and  Ari- 
"  us  in  which  he  reprimanded  them  both,  for  disturbing 
"the  church  wirh  their  insignilicant  disputes,  and  exhorted 
"  them  to  mutual  forbearance  and  tbrgiveness.  Socrates 
"  commends  this  letter,  and  calls  the  emperor's  sentiments 
i' wise  and  prudent."  (ii.  30.)  "But  the  affair  was  gone 
t'  too  far  to  be  thus  composed.  To  settle  this  and  other 
t' disputes,  the  Nicene  Council  was  summoned,  consisting 
4' of  three  hundred  and  eighteen  bishops."  Jor.  ii.  30,  31. 

Boyle  says:  "The  emperor  *  *  *  assembled  a  gen- 
"  eral  council  at  Nice,  in  Bithynia,  and  furnishing  with 
"means  of  conveyance.  Atlianasius  mentions  about  three 
"hundred.  Eusebius  speaks  of  no  more  than  two  hun- 
"dred  and  fifty.  Eustathius,  of  Antioch,  who  was  pres- 
"  ent,  as  well  as  the  two  already  named,  and  was  an  active 
"member  oi  the  synod,  declares  that  there  were  about 
"  two  hundred  and  seventy.  Socrates  mentions  three  hun- 
"dred  and  twenty.  Tiie  present  assembly  included  more 
"  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  bishops."  Boyle's  Nic.  Coun. 
Euseb.  p.  9. 

View  of  the  Council  of  Nice,  A.  D.  325,  June  19.  Ho- 
sius,  bishop  of  Corduba,  in  Spain,  president.  (Reeves  95.) 
Socrates  says  it  met  on  the  20th  of  May.  Atticus  on  the 
I4:th  of  June.     We  put  it  the  19th  of  June. 

DK.  Stanley's  description"  of  the  bishops. 

"Of  these  holy  prelates,"  he  says,  "some  were  eminent 
"  for  the  wisdom  of  their  discourse,  others  for  the  severity 
"of  their  lives  and  patience  under  afflictions,  and  some 
"again  for  their  prudent  moderation.  There  are  many  of 
"  them  who  were  adorned  with  apostolic  graces,  and  many 
"who,  as  the  apostle  says,  bore  in  their  bodies  marks  of 
"  the  sufferings  of  Jesus  Christ.  Some  of  them  were  maimed 
"in  both  their  hands  for  Jesus  Christ,  as  we  observed  of 
"St.  Paul  of  NeoctEsarea ;  others,  as  St.  Paphnutius,  whose 
"haras  were  burnt ;  others  who  had  their  right  eye  pulled 
"  out,  as  this  same  saint.  In  a  word,  there  was  a  great 
"number  of  confessors,  and  a  whole  multitude  of  martyrs. 
"There  v/as  to  be  seen  assembled  in  one  church  all  that 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    ARIAN    BISHOPS.  207 

«  the  churches  of  Europe,  Africa,  nud  Asia  could  boast  of 
«as  most  considerable,  and  all  the  shining  lights  of  the 
"  world."     Stanley  on  Arius,  159. 

Boijle  says  :     "First  came  the  bishops  in  procession  to 
"an  ajpartment  in  the  center  of  the  emperor's  palace,  in 
"whicn  it  was  his    pleasure  they  should   sit.     When   i>,ll 
"  were    seated  with    suitable    decorum,  they  awaited   the 
"coming  of  the  emperor.     First  one,  then  another,  then  a 
"third,  of  his    attendants    entered  the   hall.     Others  also 
"proceeded  *   *   *  *  then  his  own  particular  friends.     At 
"the  signal  which  announced  the  entrance  of  the  emper- 
"  or  all  arose,  and  he  ap;^eared  in  the  midst  of  them,  his 
"purple  robe  resplendent  with  gold  and  precious  stones, 
"dazzling   the    eyes    of   the    beholders.      His    eyes    were 
"  downcast.       His    countenance    blushing,    and    his    step 
"  modest.     He  was  taller  than  those  around  him,  and  also 
"surpassed   them  in  elegance  of  form  and  robustness  of 
"frame.     These  advantages  were  increased  by  courteous- 
"  ness  and  princely  condescension.     He  stood  in  the  midst 
"of  the  assembly  till  the  bishops,  upon  his  majesty's  ap- 
"  plication    to    them    for    that   purpose,  had   given  him  a 
"sign  to  sit  down,  which  he  did  upon  a  throne  burnished 
"  with  gold,  prepared  for  him.     First,  silence  being  com- 
"  manded,  Eustathius   made    an   oration  to    the    emperor, 
"magnifying  the  goodness  of  God  to  this  church,  in  plac- 
"ing  his  majesty  upon  the  throne;  and  was  seconded,  to 
"the  same  ell'ect  b}'-  Eusebius  of  Cassarea;  after  which  the 
"emperor  addressed  the  council,  exhorting  them  to  una- 
"nimity  and  a  right  understanding,  instead  of  quarreling 
"among  themselves;  especially  when  the  Holy  Scriptures 
"of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  aiforded  them  such  full 
"and   clear  instructions  concerning  their  belief.     Private 
"  complaints  of  the  bishops  against  each  other,  with  which 
"  he  had  been  presented  the  day  before,  he  committed  to 
'•  the  dames,  assuring  them  that  if  he  should  take  a  bishop 
"in  the  most  infamous  crime,  he  would  cast  over  him  his 
"  own  robe  to  conceal  him  from  public  scandal.     Speaking 
"of  their  business,  he  said,  '  God  has  sent  you  to  tis  in  the 
"  character  of  gods.'  "    Palmer's  Socrates,  li)9. 

The  opinions  of  Arius  were  first  examined  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  emperor. 

D)\  Milman  says:  "The  person  of  Arius  was  tall  and 
"graceful;  his  countenance  calm,  pale,  and  subdued;  his 
"manners  engaging;  his  conversation  fluent  and  persua- 


208  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

"sive.  He  was  well  acquainted  wilh  human  sciences  ;as  a 
"disputant,  subtle,  ingenious,  and  fertile  in  resources.  His 
"  enemies  add  to  this  character,  which  chemselves  have 
"preserved,  that  this  humble  and  mortified  exterior  con- 
"  cealed  unmeasured  ambition  ;  that  his  simplicity,  frank- 
"ness,  and  honesty  only  vailed  his  craft  and  love  of  in- 
"  trigue  ;  that  he  appeared  to  stand  aloof  from  all  party 
"merely  that  he  might  guide  his  cabal  with  more  perfect 
"  command,  and  agitate  and  govern  the  hearts  of  men." 
(Hist.  Christ.,  pp.  313,  314,  ed.  N.  Y.)  "He  repeated  what 
"he  had  said  on  a  former  occasion." 

Jortin  says:  "Let  us  consider  a  little  by  what  various 
"motives  these  various  men  may  be  influenced,  as  by  rev- 
"erence  to  the  emperor,  or  to  his  counselors,  or  favorites, 
"his  slaves  and  eunuchs;  by  the  fear  of  offending  some 
"  great  prelate,  as  a  bishop  of  Rome  or  of  Alexandria,  Avho 
"had  it  in  his  power  to  insult,  vex,  and  plague  all  the  bish- 
"  ops  within  and  without  his  jurisdiction  ;  by  the  dread  of 
"passing  for  heretics,  and  of  being  calumniated,  reviled, 
"hated,  anathematized,  excommunicated,  imprisoned,  ban- 
"ished,  fined,  beggared,  and  starved,  if  they  refused  to 
"submit;  by  compliance  with  some  active,  leading  and 
"imperious  spirits,  by  a  deference  to  the  majoritj^,  by  a 
"love  of  dictating  and  domineering,  of  applause  and  re- 
"spect,  by  vanity  and  ambition,  by  a  total  ignorance  of 
"the  question  in  debate,  or  a  total  indifference  about  it, 
"  by  private  friendship,  by  enmity  and  resentment,  by  old 
"  prejudices,  by  hopes  of  gain,  by  an  indolent  disposition, 
"  by  good  nature,  by  fatigue  of  attending  and  a  desire  to 
"be  at  home,  by  the  love  of  peace  and  quiet,  and  a  hatred 
"of  contention,  etc.  Whoever  takes  these  things  into  due 
"  consideration,  will  not  be  disposed  to  pay  a  blind  defer- 
"ence  to  the  autiiority  of  general  councils,  and  will  rather 
"be  disposed  to  judge  that  the  council  held  by  the  apos- 
"  ties  at  Jerusalem,  was  the  first  and  the  last  in  which  the 
"  Holy  Spirit  may  be  aflSirmed  to  have  presided.  *  *  *  * 
"  One  step  beyond  this,  and  we  go,  we  know  not  whither. 
"  If  such  councils  made  righteous  decrees,  it  must  have 
"  been  by  strange  good  luck."     Jor.  ii.  23,  35. 

Neander  says:  "Arius  certainly  did  not  believe  that 
"he  was  preaching  a  new  doctrine,  but  only  bringing  out 
"and  establishing  the  old  church  subordination  system; 
"without  which  it  seemed  to  him  neither  the  monarch- 
"  ial  system  of  the  Triad,  nor  the  self-subsistent  personal- 


Christ's  divinity.  209 

"ity  of  the  Logos  could  be  maintained.  'We  must  either 
"suppose,'  says  Arius,  '  two  divine  original  essences  with- 
"out  beginning,  and  independent  of  each  other;  we  must 
"substitute  a  dyarchy  in  place  of  a  monarchy,  or  we  must 
"not  shrink  from  asserting  that  the  Logos  had  a  beginning 
"  of  his  existence,  that  there  was  a  moment  when  he  did 
"not  yet  exist.  'Hv  'ore.  'ovk  't/v.'"  (There  was  when  he  was 
not.)     ii.  362. 

The  Catholic  Reeves  says :  That  "  to  cut  the  matter 
"short,  the  council  had  immediate  recourse  to  Scripture 
"and  tradition.  Each  bishop  was  called  on  to  declare  the 
"doctrine  he  had  received  on  the  point  in  question  from 
"his  predecessors  in  that  particular  See."  p.  94. 

We  will,  therefore,  hear  what  the  fathers  believed. 

ancient  opinions  of  orthodox  christians  respecting 
Christ's  divinity. 

Clement  of  Rome,  A.  D.  96,  writes:  "The  apostle 
"preached  the  gospel  to  us  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
"  Jesus  Christ  from  God.  Christ,  therefore,  was  sent  out  by 
"  God,  and  the  apostles  by  Christ.  Botli  these  events  were 
"ordered  by  the  will  of  God."  Com.  ii.  47,  218.  "Clem- 
"  ent  describes  the  Logos  as  the  ground  principle  without 
"  beginning  and  timeless."     Nean.  i.  586. 

Tatiaii  of  Assyria,  who  wrote  the  Philosophy,  says: 
"When  God  pleased,  the  word  flowed  from  his  simple  es- 
"sence,  the  first  begotten  work  of  his  Spirit,  produced  by 
"division,  not  dispersion,  as  many  torches  may  be  lighted 
"from  one,  and  yet  the  light  of  the  first  not  be  diminished. 
"So  the  Logos  proceeding  from  the  power  of  the  Father, 
"  does  not  leave  the  Father  void  of  Logos^  as  I  am  not  void 
"  of  speech  from  my  speech  going  to  you."  Contr.  Grsecos, 
p.  145. 

IrencBus.  "If  any  one  asks  us  how  is  the  Son  produced 
"  from  the  Father,  we  will  tell  him  that  whether  it  be 
"called  generation,  muncupation,  or  derpation,  or  by 
"whatever  other  name  this  ineffable  generation  be  called, 
"  no  one  knows  it,  neither  Valentinus,  nor  Marcion,  Satur- 
"  ninus,  Bassillidus,  angels,  archangels,  principalities  nor 
"powers;  but  only  the  Father  who  begat,  and  the  Son 
"who  is  begotten."     Lib.  ii.  ch.  48:  p.  176. 

Clement  of  Alexandria.     "  The  Father  alone  is  without 
"  beginning,"  etc. 
14 


210  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

"The  Son  is  the  beginning  and  first  fruits  of  all  things." 
Dr.  Priestley,  Cor.  Chr.  i.  p.  26. 

Lactantius.  "  God  before  making  the  world,  produced 
*' a  lioly  and  incorruptible  Spirit,  which  he  might  call  his 
"  Son,  and  afterward  by  him  created  innumerable  other 
"spirits  called  angels.  Christ  taught  us  (that)  one  God 
"  alone  (is)  to  be  worshiped,  neither  did  he  ever  call 
"himself  God."     Inst.  Lib.  iv.  p.  264. 

Epiphanius.  "There  is  only  one  God,  the  Father  Al- 
"  mighty,  from  whom  the  only  begotten  Son  truly  proceed- 
"  ed."    ibid.,  p.  30. 

TerUilliaii's  Theology.  '*  We  believe  in  one  God,  but 
"under  the  following  dispensations  or  economy,  that  there 
"  is  also  a  Son  of  God,  his  Word,  who  proceeded  from 
"Him;  by  whom  all  things  were  made,  and  without  whom 
"nothing  was  made;  who  was  sent  by  him  into  the  Virgin, 
"  and  was  born  of  her ;  being  both  man  and  God,  the  Son 
"  of  man  and  the  Son  of  God,  and  called  Jesus  Christ;  he 
"  suftered,  died  and  was  buried,  according  to  the  Scriptures  ; 
"  and  was  raised  up  again  by  the  Father ;  and  was  taken 
"up  into  heaven,  there  to  sit  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
''■Father;  and  thence  to  come  to  judge  the  quick  and  the 
"  dead  ;  who  sent  from  heaven,  I'rom  his  Father  according 
"  to  his  promise,  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Comforter,  the  Sanc- 
"  tifier  of  the  faith  of  all  who  believe  in  the  Father,  Son 
"  and  Holy  Ghost." 

lertullian  "  asserted  the  doctrine  of  one  divine  es- 
"  sence,  shared  in  a  common  gradation  by  three  persons 
"  most  intimately  connected.  The  Son,  so  far  as  it  concerned 
"the  divine  essence,  is  not  numerically  distinct  from  the 
"Father,  the  same  essence  of  God  being  also  in  the  Son  ; 
"but  he  dili'ers  in  degree,  being  a  smaller  portion  of  the 
"  common  mass  of  the  divine  essence."     Nean.  i.  65. 

He  says :  "I  do  not  absolutely  say,  that  there  are  Gods 
"  and  Lords,  but  I  follow  the  apostles  ;  and  if  the  Father 
"  and  the  Son  are  to  be  named  together,  I  call  the  Father 
"  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  Lord  ;  though  I  can  call  Christ  God 
"when  speaking  of  himself  alone." 

Tertullian.  "The  unlearned,  who  are  always  the 
"  greater  part  of  the  body  of  Christians,  will  have  it  that 
"  we  worship  two,  and  even  three  Gods;  since  the  rule  of 
"faith  transfers  the  worship  of  many  Gods  to  the  one  true 
"  God;  but  that  they  are  the  worshipers  of  one  God  only. 
"  We  say  they  hold  the  Monarchy.     Even  the  Latins  have 


Christ's  divinity.  211 

« learned  to  bawl  out  for  the  Monarchy,  and  the  Greeks 
"themselves  will  not  understand  the  economy."  Ad.  Prax- 
"  earn,  §  '3.  p.  502. 

lertuUian.  "Before  all  things  God  was  alone,  but 
"not  absolutely  alone,  for  he  had  with  him  his  own  rea- 
"  son,  since  God  is  a  rational  being.  This  reason  the  Greeks 
"  call  Logos^  which  term  we  render  '  sermo.'  You  will  say 
"what  is  speech  {Logos)  besides  a  word  or  sound,  unsub- 
"  stantial  and  incorporeal.  Nothing  unsubstantial  and  in- 
"  corporeal  can  proceed  from  God,  When  did  this  speech 
"assume  its  form  and  dress,  its  sound  and  voice?  When 
"  God  said,  '  Let  there  be  light,'  this  is  the  perfect  matu- 
"rity  of  the  word  which  proceeded  from  God.  From  this 
"  time  making  him  equal  to  himself — from  which  proces- 
"  sion  he  became  his  Son,  his  first-born  and  only  begotten 
" — begotten  before  all  worlds.  The  Son  is  the  fermo — the 
"  other  angels  apiritus  Dei.  There  is  a  greal  difference 
"between  the  Son  of  God  and  the  other  angels."  Prax- 
eam,  ch.  v.  pp.  502,3;  &  In.  L.  §  8.  p.  371. 

Tertullian  further  says  :  "  God  was  not  always  a  Fa- 
"  ther  or  a  Judge,  since  he  could  not  be  a  Father  before 
"he  had  a  Son,  nor  a  Judge  before  sin.  There  was  a  time 
"  when  both  the  Son  and  sin  were  not."     ch.  iii.  p.  334. 

Origeii's  Theology.  "  Origen  distinguishes  those  who 
"out  of  a  mistaken  wish  to  honor  Christy  identify  him  with 
"the  Father,  from  the  great  mass  of  orthodox  believers, 
"  who,  though  they  do  not  consider  Christ  as  a  mere  prophet, 
"  yet  are  far  from  having  a  sufficiently  high  conception  of 
"  him,  and  unable  to  form  to  themselves  any  clear  conception 
"of  his  character — the  first  class  under  the  show  of  aiming 
"  to  honor  Christ,  they  teach  what  is  untrue  of  him,  their 
"  God  is  the  Logos — they  imagine  him  to  possess  the  whole 
"  essence  of  God — to  be  the  Father  himself — they  knew 
"Christ  only  according  to  the  flesh — some,  he  says,  elevate 
"  themselves  to  God  the  P'ather,  while  others  never  proceed 
"  beyond  the  Son,  and  hold  him  to  be  the  Father  himself.'* 
See  Nean.  i.  578. 

"  It  appeared  to  Origen  like  a  profanation  of  the  first 
"and  supreme  essence,  or  a  unity  between  him  and  any 
"other  being  whatever,  not  excepting  the  Son  of  God, 
<'  even.  As  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Holy  Spirit  are  in- 
"  comparably  exalted  above  all  other  existences,  even  in 
"  the  highest  ranks  of  the  spiritual  world,  so  high,  and 
*'yet  higher  is  the  Father  exalted,  even  above  them.     Sa 


212  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"  that  we  are  bound,  thought  he,  to  pray  to  the  Father  alone, 
"  and  not  to  the  Son.  But  Christ  was,  to  Origen,  the  Way, 
"  the  Truth,  and  the  Light.  He  knew  of  no  other  way  to 
"  the  Father,  no  other  source  of  truth,  no  other  spring  of 
"divine  life  for  all  creatures,  but  him;  he  was  the  mirror 
"through  which  Paul  and  Peter,  and  all  who  were  like 
"them,  saw  God."   See  Nean,  i.  p.  591. 

Origen  says:  "To  them  who  charge  us  that  we  believe 
"in  two  Gods,  we  reply,  he  who  is  God  of  himself,  is  thk 
"God — for  which  reason  our  Savior  says  (John  17:  3),  the 
"  only  true  God,  but  whatever  is  God  besides  him,  by  com- 
"  munication  of  his  divinity,  can  not  be  properly  called  the 
"  God,  but  a  God.  Many  pious  persons,  through  fear  that 
"  they  should  make  two  Gods,  fall  into  false  and  wicked 
«  notions."    Ibid.,  p.  5.  Do.  p.  802. 

Eusehius.  "  If  this  makes  them  apprehend,  lest  we 
"should  seem  to  introduce  two  Gods,  let  them  know,  that 
"  though  we  do  indeed  acknowledge  the  Son  to  be  God, 
"yet  there  is  absolutely  but  one  God,  even  he  who  alone 
"  is  without  original,  and  unbegotten."  Clarke  on  the  Trin- 
ity, p.  307. 

Novatian^  A.  D.  251.  "The  rule  of  truth  teaches  us  to 
"believe,  after  the  Father,  in  the  Son  of  God,  the  Lord 
"Jesus  Christ;  our  God,  yet  the  Son  of  God,  of  that  God 
"who  is  one  and  alone,  the  Maker  of  all  things."  ch.  ix. 
26. 

"The  prevailing  view  in  the  western  church  came  to 
"this:  one  divine  essence  in  the  Father  and  Son,  but  at 
"  tlie  same  time  a  subordination  in  relation  of  the  Son  to 
"  the  Father."     Nean.  i.  605. 

Holy  Ghost.  "  The  church  fathers  conceived  of  the 
"Holy  Spirit  as  subordinate  to  tlie  Father  and  the  Son; 
"  the  first  of  the  beings  i^roduced  by  the  Father  through 
"  the  Son."     Nean.  i  60S. 

'•'•Justin  Martyr  conceived  of  it  as  a  Spirit  'standing 
"in  some  relation  to  the  angels.'  Origen  describes  it  'as 
"the  onl}'-  begotten  of  the  Father  through  the  Son,  to 
"  whom  not  only  being,  but  also  wisdom  and  holiness,  is 
"first  communicated  by  the  Son;  dependent  on  him  in  all 
"  these  relations.'  "     Nean.  i.  609. 

In  this  chapter  I  have  given  the  words  of  the  princi- 
pal fathers  of  the  first  three  centuries. 

Theopliilus.  "  When  God  said,  let  us  make  man,  he 
"  spake  to  nothing  but  to  his  own  Logos  or  wisdom." 


HOMOOUSION  CONDEMNED   BY  FATHERS   AND   COUNCILS.     213 

"Before  any  thing  was  made,  God  had  the  Logos  for 
«  his  council.  When  he  proceeded  to  produce,  etc.,  then 
"he  emitted  the  Logos^  the  first-born  of  every  creature." 
Ad.  Autolycum,  lib.  ii.  p.  129. 

Justin  says:  ''This  can  not  be  new  to  those  who  speak 
"of  Jupiter  as  having  sons,  and  think  that  he  was  the 
"  visible  manifestation  of  the  God  and  Lord  of  the  Old 
"Testament,  who  appeared  to  the  patriarchs."  Apol.  1  Ed. 
Thirl  by,  p.  31. 

Justin  Martyr,  K.D.  140.  "I  will  endeavor  to  show 
"  that  he  who  appeared  to  Abraham,  Jacob,  and  Moses,  and 
"who  is  called  God  in  Scripture,  is  different  from  the  God 
"who  made  all  things,  numerically  different,  but  the  same 
"in  will.  For  I  say  that  he  never  made  anything  but 
"  what  that  God  who  made  all  things,  and  above  whom 
"  there  is  no  God,  willed  that  he  should  do  and  say."  Strom., 
lib.  vi.  644. 

"In  uttering  a  word  we  beget  a  word."     Ibid.,  226. 

"  In  the  beginning  before  all  creatures,  God  begat  from 
"himself  a  certain  reasonable  power,  called  the  glory  of 
"  God,  sometimes  the  Lord,  and  Logos,  because  he  is  sub- 
"  servient  to  the  Father's  will,  and  was  begotten  at  the  Fa- 
ether's  pleasure."     Ed.  Thirlby,  p.  266. 

HOMOOUSION    CONDEMNED   BY  FATHERS    AND  COUNCILS. 

Neander  says  :  "  The  Council  at  Antioch  in  269  *  *  * 
"was  moved  to  condemn  the  expression  Ilomoousion,  an- 
"swering  to  the  doctrinal  formula  of  the  west'w^m  suh- 
«  stantia:  " 

Dionysius  of  Alexandria  "made  it  prominent  that  the 
"Son  had  his  existence  by  the  will  of  the  Father  *  *  * 
"and  employed  many  singular  comparisons  with  a  view  to 
"make  his  subordinate  relation  to  the  Father.  *  *  * 
"As,  for  example,  he  did  not  exist  before  he  was  begot- 
"  ten ;  there  was  a  moment  when  he  did  not  as  yet  exist. 
"He  also  declared  himself  opposed  to  the  IlomoousionP 
Nean.  i.  606. 

"In  Justin  Martyr  particularly  we  may  observe  a  wa- 
"vering  *  *  *  between  the  idea  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
"as  one  of  the  members  of  the  Triad,  and  a  spirit  standing 
"in  some  relationship  with  the  angels."     Nean.  i.  609. 

Neander  says:  "The  doctrine  of  a  human  soul  in  Christ 
"was  still  but  imperfectly  unfolded.     Beryll  supposed  no 


214  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

"human  soul  in  Christ  distinct  from  the  indwelling  of  the 
"divine  nature  in  him."     Nean.  i.  593. 

Origen  "  asserted  one  divine  essence  shared  in  a  cer- 
"tain  gradation  by  three  persons.  The  Son,  so  far  as  it 
"concerns  the  divine  essence,  is  not  numerically  distinct 
"from  the  Father;  the  same  essence  of  God  being  also  in 
"  the  Son,  but  he  differs  in  degree,  being  a  smaller  portion 
"of  the  divine  essence."     Nean.  i.  605. 

Mosheim  says:  "The  Church  had  frequently  decided 
"  against  Sabellius  and  others  that  there  was  a  real  differ- 
"  ence  between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  that  the  Holy 
"  Ghost  was  distinct  from  both,  but  the  exact  relation  of 
"these  persons  to  each  other  and  the  nature  of  the  distinc- 
"  tion  that  subsists  between  them  are  matters  that  hitherto 
"  were  neither  disputed  nor  explained.  *  *  *  Origen 
"lield  that  the  Son  was  in  God,  that  which  reason  is  in 
"man,  and  that  the  Holy  Ghost  was  nothing  more  than  di- 
"  vine  energy  or  active  force."     Mosheim.  i,  124. 

Neander  says:  "The  prevailing  view  in  the  Western 
"Church  came  to  this:  One  divine  essence  in  the  Father 
"  and  the  Son,  but  at  the  same  time  a  subordination  of  the 
"Son  to  the  Father."     Nean.  i.  605. 

So  that  the  same  doctrine  every  where  prevailed. 

Mosheim  says  of  Eusebius :  ''  Some  have  represented 
"  this  learned  prelate  as  though  an  Arian,  but  without 
"foundation,  if  by  an  Arian  he  meant  one  who  embraces 
"  the  doctrine  taught  by  Arius.  All  these  writers  prove  is 
"that  Eusebius  maintained  that  a  certain  disparity  and 
"  subordination  subsisted  between  the  persons  of  the  God- 
"  head.  If  we  suppose  this  to  have  been  his  opinion,  it 
"  will  not  thence  follow  that  he  was  an  Arian.  unless  that 
"word  be  taken  in  a  very  extensive  and  improper  sense. 
"Nothing  is  more  common  than  the  abusive  application 
"of  this  term  to  persons,  who  have  entertained  opinions 
'the  very  opposite  to  those  of  Arius,  though  perhaps  they 
"may  have  erred  in  other  respects."     Mosh.  i.  109. 

Mosheim  thus  defends  Eusebius,  and  those  who  believe 
that  the  Son  is  subordinate  to  the  Father  from  the  charge 
of  heresy.  What  was  the  primitive  doctrine  of  the  church 
on  this  subject?  Were  the  ancients  all  heretics,  or  were 
they  orthodox,  and  are  those  heretics  who  now  disagree 
with  them. 

Jortin  says:  "What  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Nicene 


HOMOOUSION  CONDEMNED  BY  FATHERS  AND  COUNCILS.  215 

"Fathers?  By  the  word  Ilomoousion  they  meant  not  of 
"  the  same  numerical  or  individual  substance,  but  the 
"  same  generical  substance  or  subsistence.  As  amongst 
"men  a  son  is  Ilomoousion  with  his  father,  that  is  of  the 
"  same  human  nature  ;  so  in  their  opinion  the  Son  of  God 
"is  Ilomoousion  with  the  Father;  that  is,  of  the  same  di- 
"vine  nature.  By  this  word,  therefore,  they  intended  to 
"  express  the  same  kind  of  nature,  and  so  far  a  natural 
''  equality;  but  according  to  them  this  natural  equality 
"  excluded  not  a  natural  ^nequallty.  They  had  no  notion 
"  of  distinguishing  between  person  and  being."     Jor.  i.  55. 

When  they  said  that  the  Father  was  God,  they  meant 
that  he  was  God  of  himself^  originally  and  underived  eeof 
ayevvTjTog  "  God  unbegotten  and  o  Qeog,"  the  God.  "  When 
they  said  that  the  Son  was  God,  they  meant  that  he  was 
God,  by  generation  or  derivation  Qeog  yewrjTog  God  begot- 
ten." 

"The  unity  of  God  they  maintained  and  they  defended: 
"  First,  by  considering  the  Father  as  the  Frst  Cause,  the 
"only  underived  and  self-existing;  secondly,  by  suppos- 
"ing  an  intimate,  inseparable,  and  incomprehensible 
"  union,  connection,  indwelling,  and  coexistence,  by  which 
"the  Father  was  in  the  Son,  and  the  Son  in  the  Father; 
"  and,  thirdly,  by  saying  that  in  the  Father  and  the  Son 
"there  was  an  unity  of  will,  design,  and  consent,  and  one 
"  divine  power  and  dominion,  originally  in  the  Father  and 
"derivatively  in  the  Son.  Such  seems  to  have  been  their 
"system,  and  my  design  is  barely  to  represent  it  and  to  do 
"justice.  In  process  of  time.  Christians  went  into  the  no- 
"  tion  that  the  Son  was  of  the  same  individual  substance 
"  with  the  Father  and  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  School- 
"men  took  up  the  subject  and  treated  it  in  their  way, 
"vvhicli  they  called  explaining,  and  which  men  of  sense 
"  call  impenetrable  Jargon."     Jortin  ii.  57. 

Jortin  says:  '■'Monsieur  Jurieu,  whose  zeal  against 
"heresy  is  well  known,  assures  us  that 'the  fundamental 
"  articles  of  Christianity  were  not  understood  hy  the  fa- 
'■^  thers  of  the  first  three  centuries^  that  the  true  system 
"began  to  be  modeled  into  some  shape  by  the  Nicene 
"bishops,  and  was  afterward  immensely  improved  and 
"beautified  by  the  following  synods  and  councils;  that  is, 
"by  the  Jurieus  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries.'  Thus 
"  did  this  warm  and  imi^rudent  writer  make  concessions  as 


216  CHUKCH    HISTORY. 

"  large  and  liberal  as  his  adversaries  could  desire.'^    Jor. 
ii.  29. 

The  whole  sectarian  theory  is  built  on  the  presump- 
tion that  the  fathers  were  ignorant  of  the  true  faith. 

THE  FATHERS  AS  SEEN  BY  THE  ORTHODOX  PULPIT  OF  ENGLAND 
IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 

Jurieu  is  not  alone  in  this  opinion.  The  great  Rev. 
T.  Haweis,  LL.  B.,  M.  D.,  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  his 
Church  History,  says : 

"Justin,  Origen,  Tertullian,  Pantasnus,  and  many  oth- 
"ers,  zealous  indeed  in  apologies  for  the  Christian  cause, 
*^  and  ready  to  die  rather  than  renounce  their  profession, 
"yet  holding  a  Christianity  of  so  equivocal  a  nature  as  to 
"render  it  very  dubious  whether  they  had  any  real  part  or 
"lot  in  the  matter.  From  their  writings  originated  the 
"doctrines  of  Pelagius,  Arius,  and  all  the  train  of  exalters 
"  of  human  ability,  and  debasers  of  the  glory  and  atonement 
"  of  God  our  Savior.  They  retained  the  profession,  title 
"and  garb  of  philosophy,  and  meant  to  add  thereby  a  dig- 
"nity  to  the  Christian  religion,  which  they  espoused. 
"Candor  was  their  declared  temper;  truth,  their  pursuit; 
"  and  readiness  to  submit  to  the  dictates  of  right  reason, 
"  their  boast.  From  these  two  sprang  the  two  grand  sources 
"ces  of  Christian  declension."     i.  165. 

Of  Justin  he  says  further : 

"It  is  impossible  not  to  reverence  the  martyr,  and  to 
"hope  that  the  root  of  the  matter  was  in  him;  but  truth 
"  compels  me  to  acknowledge  that  many  things  suspicious 
"are  found  in  his  writings.  He  seems  to  confess  Jesus  as 
"  the  true  God,  but  we  wish  for  a  more  explicit  testimony ; 
"  an  Arian  might  subscribe  to  his  confession."     i.  169. 

Of  Irenaeus  he  says  : 

"He  is  far  more  valuable  in  confuting  his  adversaries 
"than  in  his  delineation  of  the  evangelical  truth.  Here, 
"like  Justin,  his  philosophic  opinions  mingle  with  and 
"debase  the  Christian  purity."     i.  171. 

THE    COUNCIL    AS    SEEN    BY    THE    ORTHODOX    PULPIT    OF    THE 
NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

Dr.  Stuart,  of  Andover,  the  apostle  of  American  Prot- 
estantism, says : 


THE    COUNCIL    AS    SEEN    IN   THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.     217 

"'The  doctrine  of  the  eternal  Sonship  can  never  be 
'•built  upon  a  principle  of  reasoning,  which  stands  upon 
"sucli  a  very  insufficient  basis.  The  appeal  which  is  made 
"so  often  and  with  so  much  confidence  to  the  early  fatliers 
"of  tlie  church,  as  avowing  and  defending  this  doctrine, 
"is  evidently  founded  in  a  mistake.  The  Nicene  fatliers 
"and  Greek  commentators,  one  and  all,  hold  that  Christ  as 
"to  his  divine  nature  was  derived  from  the  Father.  So 
"the  Nicene  Creed  Qeog  eic  deov,  (i>u)g  ek  (pdyrog  (God  of  god, 
"Light  of  light).  Is  the  Son  in  his  divine  nature  derived. 
"  Is  it  possible  for  us  to  make  the  idea  of  true  and  proper 
"  divinity  harmonize  with  that  of  derivator  f  No,  it  is  not. 
"The  spiritual  views  of  the  nature  of  God,  which  are  now 
"  generally  entertained  by  enlightened  men,  forbid  this  ;  in 
"fact  they  render  it  absolutely  impossible.  But  not  so  in 
"the  days  of  the  Nicene  Council  and  of  the  Greek  com- 
"mentators.  That  they  believed  in  the  divine  nature  of 
"Christ  I  consider  as  altogether  certain;  but  that  their 
"  views  of  what  is  necessary  to  constitute  a  rational  and  a 
"  defensible  idea  of  a  nature  truly  divine  were  correct  is 
"what  no  one^  I  think,  who  has  read  their  writings^  and 
"judged  for  himself,  vnU  noui  venture  to  maintain^  Stu- 
art on  Heb.  1:  2,  pp.  556,  558,  559. 

Stuart  on  Romans  says:  "That  Christ  is  only  a  derived 
"God,  and  iherefore  can  not  have  supreme  divinity  as- 
"cribed  to  him.  This  is  indeed  the  legitimate  inference 
"from  the  Nicene  Creed;  but  still  it  is  not  what  the  Ni- 
"  cene  fathers  meant  to  teach  in  a  direct  way.  Real  di- 
"vinity,  although  not  supreme  divinity,  they  undoubtedly 
"meant  to  ascribe  to  Christ."     Rom.  9  :  5,  p.  412. 

Stuart  again :  So  the  Nicene  fathers  in  their  symbol, 
"God  of  God,  light  of  light,  I  will  not  aver  that  these  are 
"Arians  and  deny  the  divinity  of  Christ,  who  believe  this, 
"  but  I  must  say  that  for  myself  if  I  admitted  this  I  could 
"make  no  serious  objection  to  the  system  of  Arius."  Stu- 
art on  Rom.  1 :  4,  p.  560. 

Thus  two-thirds  of  the  most  orthodox  Protestants  of 
the  present  day  regard  the  whole  ante-Nicene  Church,  the 
Nicene  fathers,  the  Nicene  Creed,  Alexander,  Athanasius, 
Constantine,  and  all  as  Arian  in  doctrine.  But  they  were 
not.  They  only  held  on  in  part  to  the  old  Christian  doc- 
trine that  Christ,  although  truly  divine,  was  still  the  Sou 
of  God. 


218  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Ai'ius  "  was  intending  simply  to  defend  the  old  doc- 
"  trine  of  the  church  concerning  the  Trinity  against  Sabel- 
'^lian  and  Gnostic  opinions,  and  to  exhibit  it  in  a  consist- 
"  ent  manner,  (ii.  365.)  He  affirmed  that  he  took  ground 
"only  against  those  heretical  doctrines,  which  attributed 
"to  the  Son  of  God  the  same  want  of  beginning  as  to  the 
"•Father,  and  which  taught  a  sensuous  emanation,  a  parti- 
"tion  of  the  divine  essence.  The  Son  was  produced  by 
"  the  will  of  the  Father,  before  all  time,  as  perfect  God, 
"  only  begotten,  unchangeable,  ii.  367.  He  did  not  hes- 
"itate  to  ascribe  to  him  the  name  God."     (364.) 

The  point  of  difference  between  Arius  and  Alexander 
was  simply  this :  Alexander  held  that  Christ  was  begotten 
of  the  substance  of  the  Father,  of  the  eternal  pre-existent 
essence  of  God.  Arius  thought  that  he  was  begotten  or 
produced  not  from  the  essence  of  God,  but  from  the  will 
and  power  of  God  o'  wv  rov  'ovKiovra  eyewqoe  (the  one  being, 
begat  the  one  not  being.  370.)  Neither  party  believed 
the  Son  to  be  self-existent. 

Joriin  says:  "Eusebius  proposed  a  creed,  in  which  he 
"avoided  the  word  ITomoousion  and  anathematized  every 
"impious  heresy  without  specifiying  any;  but  his  advice 
"  was  not  followed.  Ilomoousion  was  inserted  and  the 
"Arian  doctrines  were  anathematized."     i.  38. 

This  seems  very  inconsistent  when  we  consider  that 
about  fifty  years  before  (269)  the  Council  of  Nice  prohib- 
ited this  celebrated  term  on  account  of  the  heresy  of  Paul 
of  Samosata,  who  taught  that  the  Logos  was  as  the  reason 
in  God,  consubstantial  with  the  Father.  Eusebius  of  Ni- 
comedia  perhaps  wishing  to  exculpate  himself  of  all  her- 
esy, produced  a  letter  in  which  he  publicly  disavowed  this 
heretical  term. 

Gihhon  says  :  "  A  letter  was  publicly  read,  and  igno- 
"miniously  torn,  in  which  Eusebius  *  *  *  *  of  Nicomedia 
"ingeniously  confessed  that  the  admission  of  Ilomoousion^ 
"or  consubstantial,  a  word  already  familiar  to  the  Platon- 
"ists,  was  incompatible  with  the  principles  of  their  theo- 
"  logical  system.  The  fortunate  opportunity  was  eagerly 
"  embraced  by  the  bishops  who  governed  the  resolutions 
"of  the  synod,  and  according  to  the  lively  expressions  of 
"  Ambrose ;  they  used  the  sword  which  heresy  itself  had 


THE   COUNCIL    AS    SEEN   IN   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.    219 

"  drawn  from  the  scabbard,  to  cut  off  the  head  of  the  hated 
"monster.  *  *  *  If  the  same  word  had  not  served  to 
"stigmatize  the  heretics,  and  to  unite  the  Catholics,  it 
"  would  have  been  inadequate  to  the  purpose  of  the  ma- 
"jority,  by  whom  it  was  introduced  into  the  orthodox 
"  creed."  ii.  246.  "The  i^resence  of  the  monarch  swelled 
"the  importance  of  the  debate;  his  attention  multiplied 
"the  aiguments,  and  he  exposed  his  person  with  a  patient 
"  intrepidity,  which  animated  the  valor  of  the  combatants." 
ii.  253.  "The  debate,"  says  Socrates,  ''was  like  a  battle 
"  fought  in  the  dark."     i.  23.  et  Soz.  ii.  18.  Jor.  ii.  37. 

"  The  pagans  who  were  bystanders  in  the  time  when 
"  this  controversy  was  so  warmly  agitated,  could  not  be 
"  much  edided,  or  much  disposed  to  embrace  Christianity, 
"when  they  saw  its  professors  at  such  implacable  variance. 
"  This  made  Amianus  Marcellinus  say  that  no  wild  beast 
"  was  so  cruel  an  enemy  to  man  as  most  of  the  Christians 
"were  to  each  other."  ii.  47.  "A  Christian,  a  lover  of 
"peace,  who  lived  in  obscurity,  and  whose  name  I  can  not 
"tell,  stood  up  and  said:  'My  brethren:  The  things  to  be 
"believed  are  few,  the  things  to  be  done  are  many;  but 
"you  behave  yourselves  as  if  the  reverse  of  this  were 
"  true.  St.  Paul  tells  you,  Tlie  grace  of  God  that  'hringeth 
'•'•  salvation  hath  appeared  to  all  men;  teaching  vs  that 
'''■denying  loorldhj  lusts,  we  shoitld  live  soherly,  righteously 
"  and  godly  in  this  present  ujorld,  looking  for  that  hlessed 
"  hope,- and  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God,  and 
'■''{of)  our  Savior  Jesus  Christ.  Concerning  the  nature  of 
"  Jesus  you  can  dispute  incessantly,  and  concerning  the 
"word  grace  you  will  probably  dispute  no  less;  but  the 
"rest  of  the  sentence  you  disregard  as  of  small  conse- 
"  quence  or  importance.  What,  I  beseech  of  you,  must 
"  the  Jews  and  pagans  conceive  of  you  and  your  religion, 
"  and  what  do  the  holy  angels  think  who  look  down  upon 
"  your  contentions  ?  Those  blessed  and  compassionate 
"spirits  pity  you,  and  think  you  mere  children;  but  when 
"from  contending  you  proceed  to  beating  your  fellow- 
"  servants,  to  persecuting  and  destroying,  they  consider 
"you  as  most  malicious  and  wicked  children  ;  their  pity 
"is  changed  into  indignation,  and  they  would  strike  you 
"dead  if  the  Supreme  Governor  did  not  stay  their  hand, 
"  and  remind  them  that  such  disorders  must  need  arise, 
"and  shall  one  day  be  rectified.'"  ii.  62. 

Jortin.  "The  difference  between  Alexander  and  the 
"Semi-Arians  seems  not  to  have  been  great."     ii.  29. 


220  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Gihhon  saj's:  "This  mnjority  (meaning  those  wlio  fi- 
"  nally  governed)  was  divided  into  two  parties,  distiiiguish- 
"  ed  by  a  contrary  tendency  to  sentiments  of  the  Trithe- 
"  ists  and  the  Sabellians,  but  as  these  opposite  extremes 
"seemed  to  overthrow  the  Ibundation  of  natural  or  re- 
"  vealed  religion,  they  naturally  agreed  to  qualify  the  rigor 
"of  their  principles,  and  to  disavow  the  just  but  in- 
"vidious  consequences  which  might  be  urged  by  their 
"  antagonists.  The  interests  of  their  common  cause  in- 
"clinedthem  to  join  their  numbers,  and  to.  conceal  their 
"  ditferences,  their  animosity  was  softened  by  the  healing 
"  counsels  of  moderation"'  [or  the  mutual  desire  to  crush 
the  middle  party  and  the  Arians.  N.  S.],  "  and  their  disputes 
"  were  suspended  by  the  use  of  the  mysterious  Ilomoou- 
"  sion,  which  either  party  was  at  liberty  to  interpret  ac- 
"  cording  to  their  peculiar  tenets.  The  Sabellian  sense, 
"  which,  about  fifty  years  before,  had  caused  the  Council 
"  of  Antioch  to  prohibit  this  celebrated  term,  had  endeared 
"  it  to  those  theologians  who  entertained  a  secret  but  par- 
"  tisan  affection  for  a  nominal  trinity.  Athanasius  defend- 
*' ed  above  twenty  years  the  Sabellianism  of  Marcellus  of 
"  Ancyra,  and  when  at  last  he  was  compelled  to  withdraw 
"himself  from  the  communion,  he  continued  to  mention, 
"  with  an  ambiguous  smile,  the  venial  errors  of  hisrespect- 
"  able  friend."  ^  ii.  247. 

Alexander,  to  prove  the  eternity  of  the  Logos^  cites 
Psalm  45  :  1.  "My  heart  is  inditing  a  good  matter."  Or 
as  it  is  in  the  Greek,  "  E^epet'faro  -q  KagSia  ^lov  Aoyoi-,"  my 
heart  has  disgorged  a  good  word.  Also  Prov.  30:  19. 
"  Solomon,"  says  he,  "  declares  that  it  is  impossible  to  find 
out  the  way  of  a  serpent  upon  a  rock ;  which  rock,  as  St. 
Paul  tells  us,  is  Christ."  Jortin  saj's  :  •'  How  hardened  and 
perverse  must  those  men  have  been,  who  could  withstand 
such  evidence."     i.  28. 

Neander  says :  "To  form  a  correct  notion  of  the  order 
"  of  business  at  this  council,  we  must  in  the  first  place  pre- 
"sent  clearly  before  our  minds  the  relation  of  the  parties 
"  who  were  present : 

"  I.  Those  who  agreed  entirely  with  the  doctrine  of 
"Arius,  which  was  but  a  small  party,  viz:  first  seventeen 
"  bishops  who  professed  to  be  of  the  opinion  of  Arius.  But 
"  as  the  creed  (which' was  finally  passed)  was  to  be  made 
"  known  under  the  imperial  authority,  and  threatened  all 


THE   COUNCIL    AS   SEEN   IN    THE    NINETEENTH   CENTURY.    221 

"who  would  not  adopt  it  with  the  loss  of  their  places, 
"  and  condemnation  as  refractory  subjects,  the  greater  part 
"  of  these  yielded  through  fear,  and  there  remained  finally 
"  but  two  bishops  besides  Arius,  namely,  Theonas  of  Mar- 
"  marica  in  Lybia,  and  Secundus,  of  Ttolemias,  who  de- 
"clared  without  reserve  against  the  Nicene  Creed."     377. 

So  small  was  the  number  of  those  who  held  any  thing 
peculiar  to  the  Arian  theory,  viz  :  from  two  to  seventeen. 

Waddington  says:  "When  Constantine  established 
"Christianity  as  the  religion  of  the  empire,  he  probably 
"did  not  foresee  how  soon  he  should  be  called  upon  to  in- 
"terpose  his  authority,  in  order  to  prescribe  and  define  the 
"•  precise  tenets  of  that  religion,  which  he  had  established, 
"  Doubtless  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  numerous 
"opinions  by  which  Christians  had  ever  been  divided; 
"but  he  saw  that,  in  spite  of  them,  the  body  had  contin- 
"  ued  to  advance  in  vigor  and  magnitude,  with  the  show 
"  of  health  and  unity.  The  church  was  strong  in  the  midst 
"  of  heresy,  as  well  as  oppression."     p.  92. 

"II.  Then  the  advocates  of  the  Homoousion  [doctrine 
"which  was  finally  adopted,  viz:  that  the  Son  is  of  the 
"same  essence  of  the  Father]  wlio  likewise  in  the  Eastern 
"Church  composed  but  a  comparatively  small  party." 
373.    [Perhaps  a  less  number  than  the  Arians.] 

"III.  And  finally  those  who  occupied  the  middle  ground 
"between  the  two  parties,  and  entertained  similar  views 
"with  those  of  Eusebius  of  Cassarea,  viz:  God  was  the 
"Father  of  Christ  alone,  the  God  and  Creator  of  all  otlier 
"beings,  consequently  there  was  an  essential  diflerence 
"between  the  notion  of  a  Son  of  God,  and  that  of  a  cre- 
"ated  being.  He  was  with  Origen  inclined  to  favor  the 
"theory  of  subordination,  but  considered  the  Son  as  in  the 
"most  perfect  manner,  like  in  all  things  to  the  Father,  his 
"most  perfect  image,  yet  not  absolutely  eternal  like  the 
"Father,  as  the  existence  of  the  Father  precedes  the  ex- 
"istence  and  origin  of  the  Son;  but  to  remove  all  relation 
"of  time  he  said  the  origin  of  the  Son  of  God  was  one 
"  which  transcended  the  conceptions  of  all  created  beings 
"  and  of  which  none  but  the  most  acute  intellect,  ab- 
"  stracting  from  the  relations  of  time  and  sense,  could  form 
"  any  adequete  representation.  (^68.)  From  these  last 
"sprung  up  afterward  the  party  called  Semi- Arians.  It 
"  was  the  wish  of  these  last  that  the  doctrine  of  Christ's 


222  cuuRcii    HISTORY. 

"  divinity  should  be  settled  only  in  such  general  expres- 
"  sions  as  had  hitherto  satisfied  the  Christian  want,  so  that 
"  with  regard  to  the  difTerence  which  divided  the  two  eon- 
"  tending  parties,  nothing  was  to  be  defined,  and  each 
"might  be  allowed  to  interpret  the  language  according  to 
"its  own  meaning.  Many  of  the  decided  expressions  of 
"Arius  concerning  the  nature  of  the  Son  of  God  must,  be- 
"  yond  question,  have  appeared  offensive  even  to  the  dom- 
"  inant  party,"  (373.)  "A  condemnation  of  these  Arian 
"  propositions  might  easily  have  been  carried  through,  if, 
"on  the  other  side,  the  party  defending  the  Ilomoousion 
"  had  not  abo  raised  an  opposition  to  the  dominant  church 
"  doctrine  of  the  East,  and  if  certain  individuals  had  not 
"  come  out  as  mediators  between  the  contending  parties. 
"  Several  bishops  who  belonged  to  that  afterward  denomi- 
"  nated  the  Semi-Arian  party,  zealously  exerted  them- 
"  selves  to  establish  peace,  and  to  reduce  to  silence  those 
"  who  were  earnestly  opposed  to  the  doctrines  of  Arius." 
Nean.  ii.  37-1. 

"The  sect  which  asserted  the  doctrine  of  a  similar  sub- 
«  stance  was  the  most  numerous,  at  least  in  the  province 
"  of  Asia,  and  when  the  leaders  of  both  parties  were  as- 
"  sembled  in  the  Council  of  Seleucia,  their  opinions  would 
"have  prevailed  by  a  majority  of  one  hundred  and  five, 
"to  forty-three  bishops.  The  Greek  word,  which  was 
"  chosen  (by  these)  to  express  the  mysterious  resemblance, 
"bears  so  close  an  affinity  to  the  orthodox  symbols  that 
"  the  profane  of  every  age  have  derided  the  furious  con- 
"  tests,  which  the  difference  of  a  single  diphthong  excited 
^^hetween  the  IIomoosi(sio7isandIIo7noiovsions.  As  it  fre- 
"  quently  happens  that  the  sounds  and  characters  which 
"approach  the  nearest  to  each  other^  accidentally  represent 
"  the  most  opposite  ideas,  the  observation  would  be  ridic- 
"ulous, .?'/"  it  were  possible  to  marh  any  real  and  sensible 
'■^  distinction  beiiveen  the  doctrine  of  tne  Semi-Arians,^s 
"they  were  improperly  styled  [the  Christians.  N.  S.],  and 
"  that  of  the  Catholics  themselves."     Gib.  ii.  250. 

The  Christians,  the  dominant  party,  the  peace-loving 
party,  the  mediators,  held  the  most  exalted  view^s  of  the 
divine  glorj''  of  the  Son  of  God;  and  even  the  Homoousions 
did  not  yet  deny  that  Christ  in  his  divine  nature  is  the  Son 
of  God. 

Athanasius  beautifully  said:     "If  Christ  difi'ered  from 


THE  COUNCIL  AS  SEEN  IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  223 

"  other  creatures  simply  as  being  the  only  creature  im- 
"  mediately  produced  by  God,  his  essence  being  wholly 
"distinct  from  the  essence  of  God,  then  he  could  not  bring 
"the  creature  into  fellowship  witli  God,  since  we  must  be 
"  constrained  to  conceive  of  something  still  intermediate 
'•between  him,  as  a  creature,  and  the  divine  essence,  which 
"differed  from  him,  something  whereby  he  might  stand  in 
"communion  with  God;  and  tliis  intermediate  being  would 
'•  be  precisely  the  Son  of  God  in  the  j)roper  sense."  Nean. 
ii.  380. 

"The  difficulty  was  that  other  unscriptural  definitions 
"  were  added,  which,  while  the  unscrupulous  would  advo- 
"cate  for  place,  position  and  gain,  offended  the  con- 
"scientious  Christian,  and  were  designed  to  offend  him, 
"that  by  driving  him  out,  that  plar^es  of  authority  might 
"be  retained  for  others.  The  Christians  were  not  respons- 
"ible  for  this,  as  the  opposite  writers  confess.  The  Chris- 
"  tians,  called  by  their  enemies  Semi-Arians,  endeavored 
"to  show  that  the  expressions  of  Arius  did  not,  at  least, 
"  have  any  such  offensive  meaning  as  they  appeared  to 
"have  on  the  first  glance;  and  they  proposed  certain  gen- 
"eral  formulas  of  agreement,  with  Avhich  bolh  parties 
"might  be  satisfied.  Tiie  leaders  of  the  Arian  party,  en- 
'•tering  into  these  forms  of  agreement,  declared  themselves 
"  ready  to  retract  the  offensive  expressions,  and  to  adopt 
"  the  doctrine  technology,  hitherto  in  use  in  the  Eastern 
"Church,  which,  in  truth,  they  could  very  well  explain  ac- 
"  cording  to  their  own  sense.  A  prominent  part  was  taken 
"  among  the  authors  of  peace,  especially  by  the  learned 
"  bishop,  Eusebius  of  Ccesarea.  He  laid  before  the  coun- 
" cil  a  Confession  of  Faith  containing  the  doctrine  which, 
"  as  he  said,  had  been  held  from  the  beginning  by  the  bish- 
"ops  in  his  church.  The  confession  which  he  had  received 
"  in  his  earliest  religious  instruction  and  at  his  baptism, 
"and  which,  as  a  presbyter  and  a  l)ishop,  he  had  constant- 
"  ly  preached.  This  creed  distinctly  expressed  the  doc- 
"  trine  of  Christ's  divinity,  but  in  such  expressions  as,  ai- 
"  though  according  to  the  full  import  of  the  conceptions 
"  thereby  denoted,  they  stood  in  contradiction  with  the 
"Arian  tenets  consistently  understood,  yet  might  be  very 
"  well  united  with  these  tenets  by  Arius  without  giving  up 
"his  own  point  of  view."     ii.  374. 


224  CHURCH   HISTORr. 


THE    CREED    OF   THE   CHRISTIAN   PARTY    BIBLICAL. 

"This  confession  had  the  advantage  of  being  composed 
"for  the  most  part,  of  scriptural  phraseology,  which  was 
"considered  by  the  party  of  Eusebius,  as  being  a  peculiar 
"merit."     ii.  374. 

THE    OTHER    PARTY   CREEDS    NOT    BIBLICAL. 

"In  the  creed  of  Arius,  as  in  the  formula  of  the  Ho- 
'■'■moousion^  they  (the  dominant  party)  especially  censured 
"the  use  of  the  expressions  not  conformed  to  the  lan- 
"guage   of  Scripture."     Nean.  ii.  374. 

"  Eusebius  observes  in  his  pastoral  letters,  that  nobody 
"could  bring  any  objections  against  this  Confession  of 
"Faith.  It  is  impossible  to  see  what  could  give  offense  to 
"  the  Eastern  bishops  in  this  symbol  of  faith.  The  fourth  An- 
"  tiochean  Creed,  which  afterward  obtained  especial  author- 
"ity  with  the  major  portion  of  the  Eastern  Church,  coin- 
"cided  in  the  main  with  this  creed  of  Eusebius.  The  Nicene 
"  Creed  itself  manifestly  grew  out  of  the  Eusebian  formula, 
"with  the  simple  additions  of  the  antithesis  to  Arianism, 
"and  of  Ilomooiision.  Besides  the  account  of  Athanasius 
"evinces  that  the  council  was  in  the  first  place  satisfied 
"  with  those  general  definitions  which  alone  Eusebius 
"meant  to  express.  He  says  that  the  bishops  originally 
"would  have  established,  instead  of  the  Arian  definitions, 
"  the  expressions  more  generally  recognized,  which  were 
"  contained  in  the  Scriptures  themselves.  Taf  rwv  ypa06)v 
"  OjuoAoyou/i^va?  Ae^ei^."  (The  acknowledged  words  of  the 
Scriptures.)  374,  Note.  "As,  for  example,  the  expression, 
"E/c  deov  Evai  rr]  (jyvoei?''  (To  be  in  nature  from  God.)  "The 
"expression  that  the  Son  was  the  f:^vvaiuq  aocjaa  iiovq  rov 
"riarpo^  Qeoq  als^ivog.-''  (Power,  wisdom,  psesence  of  the 
Father,  a  true  God.)  "And  this,  in  fact,  agrees  entirely 
"with  what  Eusebius  designed."     374. 

Atliaiias his  says:  "The  intention  at  first  was  simply 
"to  establish  that"^  the  Son  of  God  was  the  image  of  the 
'Father,  like,  and  unchangeable  toward  all  things  with  the 
"Father,  and  unchanging  and  always  and  individually  to 
"  be  in  him." 

Jortin  says :  "  Abbadie  defended  the  divinity  of  Christ ; 
"but  how?     By  laying  down  his  ow7i  notion  of  it,  and  then 


THE    OTHER    PARTY    CREEDS    NOT    BIBLICAL.  225 

"  arguing  that  if  it  were  not  true  our  Savior  is  what  is  too 
"shocking  to  be  named,  or  thought  of;  and  what  no  Mo- 
"hammedan  would  call  him.  This  odious  indiscretion 
"hath  been  frequent  amongst  disputers  of  more  zeal  than 
"judgment."     Jor.  i.  59. 

Neandev  says :  ''  Constantine  had,  without  doubt,  been 
"brought  to  a  decision  by  the  influence  of  those  bishops 
"  who  happened  last  to  possess  most  authority  with  him, 
"namely,  Hosius  and  his  associates;  and  he  decided  in  fa- 
"vor  of  the  addition  of  Iloinoousion.  If  we  may  credit 
"the  report  of  Eusebius,  the  emperor  himself  even  dogma- 
"tized  in  the  question,  how  the  Ilomoousion  ought  to  be 
"understood;  how  it  was  not  to  be  conceived  under  any 
"image  of  sense,  as  if  the  one  divine  essence  had  been 
"separated  into  several  homogeneous  parts."  (375.)  "He 
"calls  upon  the  bishops  to  adopt  the  creed  of  Eusebius, 
"and  simply  to  add  to  it  the  word  Ilomoousion^  the  right 
"way  of  understanding  which  he  explains."     375. 

"This  might  have  been  a  point  often  discussed  in  his 
"presence,  since  it  is  well  known  that  the  occasion  which 
"it  gave  for  sensuous  representations  was  the  common  ob- 
"jection  of  the  Orientals  to  the  IlomoousionP  (376.) 
"The  proposals  concerning  the  Homoousion  may  first 
"have  come  from  the  bishops;  but  as  it  met  with  opposi- 
"tion,  the  emperor,  whom  the  bishop  of  Corduba  and  otli- 
"ers  had  made  familiar  with  the  part  which,  in  pursuance 
"of  their  objects,  he  was  to  play  at  the  council,  took  up' 
"the  word  and  declared  himself  to  be  satisfied  of  the  in- 
"ofFensiveness  of  the  expression.  There  may  be  some 
"truth  at  the  bottom  in  the  account  of  Philostorgius  (i.  7): 
"  that  Alexander,  jjreviously  to  the  opening  of  the  Nicene 
"Council,  had  combined*  with  the  party  of  the  bishops,, 
"  Hosius  of  Corduba.  President  of  the  Council,  that  is,  with 
"the  court  party  of  Nicouiedia,  at  a  synod  to  establish  the 
'■'•Homoousion.  The  voice  of  the  emperor  had  with  many 
"bishops,  more  weight  than  it  ought  to  have  had  accord- 
"ing  to  the  principles  of  the  gospel."  (Note,  375.)  "The 
"party  of  Alexander  who  had  now  on  their  side  the  weight 
"of  imperial  autliority,  proceeded  to  require  in  addition  to 
"the  Homoousion^  still  other  antithetic  clauses."     376. 

"■Perhaps  it  had  been  agreed  on  by  the  heads  of  the 
"dogmatical  court  party  at  that  time,  tliat  the  declaration 
"of  the  emperor  in  favor  of  the  Homoousion  should  be- 

*See  Gibbon  forward. 

15 


226  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

"made    the  watchword  for  composing  a  still   more  com- 
"plete  antithesis  to  Arianism."     376. 

THE    ORIGIN    OF   THE   NICENE    CREED. 

"In  this  way,  by  the  union  of  the  antithetic  clauses 
'•with  the  articles  of  faith  proposed  by  Eusebius,  was  pro- 
"duced  the  famous  Nicene  Creed."  (376.)  'To  the  plirase 
"  Thcos  of  Theou  was  added  true.'  (True  God  of  true  God.) 
"To  begotten,  was  added  not  made,  so  that  instead  of  the 
"  creed  reading  '  God  of  God,  light  of  light,  begotten  of 
"the  Father;  by  whom  all  worlds  were  made,' it  read, 'God 
"of  God,  light  of  light,  true  God  of  true  God,  begotten 
"not  made,  consubstantial  with  the  Father.'"  Boyle  in 
Eusel)iiis,  p.  94.     Neander  says: 

"Now  although  the  majority  of  the  council  might  per- 
"haps  agree  in  the  articles  against  the  part  of  the  Arian 
"Creed,  which  placed  the  Son  of  God  on  a  level  with 
"creatures,  yet  the  definitions  [of  the  IIoinooi(,sions'\  were 
"at  variance  with  the  prevailing  Oriental  type  of  doctrine. 
"Hence  there  arose  much  opposition  to  these  definitions. 
"On  the  first  day  after  they  were  presented,  Eusebius  of 
"Ctesarea  absolutely  refused  to  assent  to  them.  But  after 
"many  explanations  he  yielded  for  the  sake  of  peace." 
(376.)  "Eusebius  preferred  rather  to  have  it  appear  that 
"he  yielded  to  the  authority  of  the  emperor  than  to  that 
"of  tiie  other  bishops;  and  he  imagined  also  that  he  could 
"best  justify  his  conduct  to  this  community  if  he  adduced 
"the  authority  of  the  emperor,  if  he  declared  that  he  had 
"yielded  to  a  formula  proposed  and  recommended  by  the 
"emperor."  p.  375.  Note.  "He  interpreted  this  distinc- 
"tion  only  in  accordance  with  the  doctrinal  system  which 
"he  had  already  taught."     ii.  377. 

For  Eii&ebius  understood  the  emperor  when  he  con- 
demned the  proposition  XIqo  tov  yevvTjOTjvat  ovk  rjv  (he  was 
not  before  the  being  begotten)  to  mean  that  the  Son  of 
God  existed  before  he  came  into  being,  like  all  things 
else,  in  the  Father.     379. 

"There  were  many  others  who  adopted  the  Nicene 
"Creed  in  the  same  sense  with  Eusebius,  interpreting  it  in 
"accordance  with  their  own  doctrinal  system,  so  that 
^''  Homoousion  was  to  them  nothing  more  than  a  designa- 
"tion  of  the  onotoTrjg  Kar  oviav"  (likeness  in  respect  to  es- 
sence).    377. 


ADOPTION   OF    THE    NEW   CREED.  227 

PMlostorgius  says  "that  Constantia,  the  sister  of  the 
"emperor,  advised  her  friends  at  the  council  to  receive  for 
"the  present  the  Homoovsion  which  her  brother  was  now 
''firmlv  resolved  to  hold  fast,  and  to  give  it  their  own  in- 
« terpretation,  and  means  would  very  soon  be  found  to 
"draw  him  off  from  it  again  "  (379.  kote.)  Thus,  "while 
"for  the  present  no  party  ventured  to  come  out  decidedly 
"against  the  Hoinoousion.,  still  those  who  received  it  ex- 
"  plaining  it  to  mean  Ilomoiousion^  accused  the  others 
"who  interpreted  it  and  held  it  fast  in  its  original  signifi- 
"  cation  oi  SahfUianism.^  while  the  latter  accused  them  of 
"Tritheism."     Nean.  ii.  378. 

The  true  doctrine,  however,  is  liable  to  none  of  these 
charges.     There  are  really  but  four  views: 

I.  The  truth  that  God  the  Father  is  the  origin  of  all, 
supreme  over  all,  and  giveth  to  all  life,  and  that  Jesus  is 
His  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  His  Spirit;  or, 

II.  The  Father  and  Son  and  Spirit,  three  persons,  are 
equally  God.  All-eternal  and  self-subsisting  which  is 
called  Tritheism;  or, 

III.  The  Father  is  the  alone  being  manifesting  himself 
in  creation  as  Father,  in  redemption  as  Son,  and  in  sancti- 
fication  as  Spirit.     This  is  Sdlellianisin^  or  a  Modal  Trinity. 

The  council  sat  five  weeks.  The  peace  party  found  no 
charity  on  the  part  of  the  innovators.  The  desire  was 
not  to  heal,  but  to  destroy.  Also  the  peace  party,  being 
warned  by  the  emperor's  sister,  feared  to  offend  him  lest 
he  might  return  to  the  Pagan  worship  again.  There  were 
intrigues,  bitterness,  and  misrepresentations,  and  the  re- 
sult was  lamentable. 

ADOPTION  OF  THE  NEW  CREED. 

Neander  says:  "At  first  seventeen  bishops,  who  prob- 
"  ably  belonged  to  the  strictly  Arian  party,  declined  to  go 
"with  the  majority.  But  as  the  creed  was  to  be  made 
"  known  under  the  imperial  authority,  and  threatened  all 
"who  would  not  adopt  it  with  the  loss  of  their  places,  and 
"condemnation  as  refractory  subjects,  the  greater  part  of 
"  them  yielded  through  fem\  there  remained,  finally,  but 
'^  two  bishops  besides  Arius,  viz : 


228  CHURCH   HISTORY. 


THEONAS   OF   MARMARICA   IN   LYBIA, 

mid 

SECUNDUS   OF    PTOLEMIAS, 

"who  declared  without  reserve  against  the  creed.  The 
"two  zealous  personal  friends  of  Arius  themselves,  Euse- 
"  bius  of  Nicomedia,  and  Theognis  of  Nice,  subscribed  the 
"creed,  declaring  with  Eusebius  of  Caesarea  that  they 
"  yielded  for  the  sake  of  peace,  after  having  expressed 
"  their  views  as  to  the  way  in  which  it  ought  to  be  under- 
"  stood  so  as  to  be  free  from  all  objection.  Still  they  re- 
"  fused  to  subscribe  with  the  rest,  the  condemnatory  clauses 
"against  the  Arian  doctrines,  not,  as  they  avowed,  be- 
"  cause  they  did  not  agree  with  the  others  as  to  the  doc- 
"trinal  matter,  but  because  according  to  the  way  in  which 
"they  had  learned  to  understand  the  doctrines  of  Arius. 
"From  his  written  and  oral  communications  they  could 
"not  believe  that  he  had  taught  the  doctrines  he  was  ac- 
"  ciised  of  teaching.  At  this  time  the  thing  was  over- 
" looked,  but  it  turned  out  as  Theonas  and  Secundus  had 
"foretold  them  that  they  soon  shared  the  same  fate  with 
"  the  latter." 

THE   ROMAN    CATHOLIC    SPIRIT. 

Reeves  says:  "With  this  supreme  sanction  the  decrees 
"of  the  Nicene  Council  were  respectfully  received  every- 
"  where  by  the  Christian  world.  Some  few  individuals  in- 
"deed  had  the  impious  audacity  to  form  an  opposition,  at 
"the  head  of  which  was  Arius  himself,  Eusebius,  the  bishop 
"of  Nicomedia,  and  Theognis^  bishop  of  Nice.  Banish- 
"ment  by  the  emperor's  order  was  the  punishment  of  their 
"rebellion."     96. 

Yet  really  but  a  small  part  of  the  Christian  world  was 
represented  there.  The  Novatians  had  no  voice;  the  Do- 
natists,  with  their  five  hundred  bishops,  were  not  repre- 
sented there,  and  many  others  not  recognized  by  the 
court-party  leaders.  There  were  over  two  thousand  bish- 
ops in  the  Christian  world,  but  only  from  two  hundred  and 
fifty  to  three  hundred  and  eighteen  are  claimed  to  have 
been  present,  and  their  decision  was  received  by  a  gen- 
eral protest,  and  a  powerful  reaction  was  the  natural  con- 
sequence. 


THE  CHUllCII  OF  ANTI- CHRIST.  229 

Kev.  xvii.  The  false  church  as  a  harlot,  called  the  Creat  City 
Babylon,  appears  as  opposed  to  the  true  church,  Rev.  xii.  and  xxi., 
called  New  Jerusalem.     See  2  Thess.  2:3. 

Rev.  12:1.  The  dragon  of  Imperial  Rome  draws  cue-third  of 
the  stars  (ministers)  from  their  allegiance  to  Christ. 

Rev.  12  :  6.  First  persecution  under  Constantiue.  The  church 
was  succored  by  the  '•  Barbarians." 

Rev.  12:7.   "  AVar  in  heaven  ;"  contentions  of  the  fourth  century. 

Rev.  12:9.  "Dragon  cast  out;"  German  nations  seizing  Rome 
in  the  fifth  century.     Theodoric.     A.  D.  493. 

Rev.  12:17.    The  dragon  recovers  ;  general  persecution. 

Rev.  13:1.  A  beast  resembling  a  leopard  rising  out  of  the  sea;  a 
symbol  of  the  Roman  bishops  who  arose  in  Italy;  a  peninsula  in  the 
Mediterranean  Sea.     In  their  spotted  robes  they  resemble  leopards. 

Rev.  13  :  2.  The  dragon  Rome  gave  power  to  the  bishops. 

Rev.  13  :  3.  Liberius  signed  the  Arian  Creed  ;  and  all  the  world 
was  against  Athanasius  and  the  Roman  Creed ;  but  the  wounded  head 
was  healed. 

Rev,  13  :  4.    They  worshiped  Rome  and  the  Pope. 

Rev.  13:11.  "Another  beast"  comes  out  of  the  earth.  This 
signities  that  the  pope  or  bishop  of  Rome  is  made  king  by  earthly 
power.     Fulfilled  A.  D.  755. 

Rev.  13:14.  This  verse  represents  the  king-pope,  making  an 
image  of  the  first  beast :  which  was  done  in  the  re-establishment  of 
the  Roman  Empire  by  its  image  the  Roman  Church. 

Rev.  13  :  18.  The  number  is  666.  John  wrote  in  Greek,  and 
the  Greek  name  of  the  Roman  empire  is  H  Aarivr]  QaaiXeia.  The 
Latin  Kingdom.  H=8,  A=30,  a=:l,  t=300,  i=10,  v=50,  ?;=8, 
j8=2,  a=l,  (7==200,'  i=lU,  A=30,  6=5,  i=10,  a=l  :  The  sum, 
666.     This  was  the  "beast  "  of  which  Popery  is  the  "image.'' 

Rev.  17  :  1 — 5.  The  Roman  Church;  the  cup  of  communion  in 
lier  hand,  is  the  emblem  of  blasphemy,  persecution  and  death. 

Rev.  17  :  18.     The  woman  is  Rome,  founded  on  seven  hills. 

Rev.  17  : 1.     The  waters  are  nations  and  multitudes.    See  ver.  15. 

Rev.  17  :  8.     The  beast  is  the  worldly  empires. 

Rev.  17  :  9.  The  seven  heads  are  seven  kingdoms,  as  mountains 
where  Popery,  Pagan  or  Catholic,  has  ever  reigned. 

Rev.  17  :  10,  Five  fallen;  Assyrian,  Egyptian,  Babylonian, 
Persian,  Grecian.  One  is,  the  Roman  ;  one  not  yet  come,  Constan- 
tines  semi-Christian  Empire.  The  beast  that  was  and  is  not  and 
yet  is,  is  the  empire  restored  in  Popery. 

Rev.  17  :  12.  The  ten  horns,  Italy,  Greece,  Syria,  Egypt,  Africa, 
Germany,  Hungary,  Spain,  France,  England. 

Rev.  17  :  13.  They  gave  their  power  to  the  beast.  A.D.  381  to  800, 

Rev.  18  :  18.  Her  greatness.  "What  city  is  like  this  Great 
City."  Her  apparel,  incense,  greatness  and  merchandise  in  the  souls 
of  men,  apply  to  Rome,  and  to  no  other  church  or  city.  This  is  so 
plain  that  on  Rev.  17  :  5,  as  well  as  1  Peter  5 :  13,  the  Catholic  Bible 
(notes)  contends  for,  or  admits  that  Rome  is  meant  by  Babylon. 


230 


THE  TWO  CHURCHES. 


THE   ROMAN  CHURCH. 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


A.  J).  325.  Gregory  says: 
"  In  the  reign  of  Coustantine 
the  government  of  the  church 
was,  as  far  as  possible,  arranged 
comformable  to  the  government 
of  the  state.  The  bishops  cor- 
responded to  the  magistrates." 
94. 

Waddington  says:  "In  the 
mouth  of  an  Arian  the  terms 
Cafholic  and  Roman  were  syn- 
cnyiuous."  103.  Waddington 
Fui'ther  says,  "Boyle  observes 
this  inconsistency  in  Koman 
Catholic  writers,  that  they  urge 
generally  the  obstinate  per- 
versity of  heretics  as  a  proof 
of  their  errors ;  and  yet  press 
their  flexibility  in  particular 
cases  to  the  same  conclusion  " 
— i.  e.,  "heretics  were  obstinate 
until  they  were  persecuted,  and 
no  longer;  and  on  this  ground 
they  erected  the  Inquisition." 
Wad.  1U3. 

The  court  party  succeeded  in 
organizing  the  Roman  Church, 
and  made  it  the  pet  of  the  state, 
the  protege  of  the  empire.  Its 
creed  was  so  far  Arian  as  to 
make  a  derived  God  ;  full  God. 
All  bore  the  name  of  Arius. 
Some  were  simply  Arian,  and 
some  Tri,  or  Triuit-Arians. 

THE    ROMAN    CREED. 

The  first  sectarian  creed,  by 
which  I  mean  the  first  creed 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
cluding Christians,  is  called  the 
Nicene  Creed,  and  reads  as  fol- 
lows : 

"We  believe  in  one  God, 
the    Father     Almighty,     Mak- 


Those  who  adhered  to  the 
old  Christian  form  of  doctrine 
did  not  insert  any  new,  novel, 
foreign,  or  strange  words  in  their 
creed  ;  but  only  such  evangelical 
words  as  all  had  known  from  the 
beginning.  They  did  not  so 
much  make  a  creed  as  a  state- 
ment of  the  common  well-known 
truth  always  believed  by  all  who 
were  Christians.  All  who  ad- 
hered to  religion  in  that  form  in 
which  they  had  first  received  it 
were  classed  with  heretics,  and 
persecuted  as  enemies.  The 
great,  learned  and  orthodox  Dr. 
Jortin,  though  he  condescends, 
or  perhaps  he  can  not  avoid 
using  the  common  misnomer 
Arian,  yet  treats  the  subject 
fairly  in  the  following  remarks  : 
"One  remarkable  diftcrence  may 
be  observed  between  the  creeds 
which  were  proposed  upon  this 
occasion  (at  the  council).  The 
Consubstantialists  drew  up  their 
creed  with  a  view  to  exclude  and 
distress  the  Arians.  The  Ariaiis 
had  no  design  to  distress  the 
Consubstantialists,  but  usually 
proposed  creeds,  to  which  Atha- 
nasius  himself  might  have  as- 
sented ;  so  that  if  the  compilers 
were  Arians  their  creeds  were 
not  Arian."     Jor.  ii.  51. 

THE    CHRISTIAN    CONFESSION. 

The  Christians  proposed  the 
following  confession  not  to  ex- 
clude, but  as  a  sufficient  confes- 
sion. It  was  drawn  up  as  a 
peace  oifering,  an  expression  of 
evangelical    truth   in    charity. 

"We  acknowledge  and  be- 
lieve     in    one    God,    the     Fa- 


THE    ROMAN   CHURCH — THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


231 


er  of  all  things,  visible  and 
invisible. 

"  And  in  one  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  be- 
gotten and  only  begotten  of 
the  Father,  that  is,  of  the 
substance  of  the  Father, 
God  of  Grod,  Light  ofLight. 
very  God  of  very  God,  be- 
gotten, not  made,  consub- 
stantial  with  the  Father,  by 
whom  all  things  were  made, 
both  in  heaven  and  in  earth. 

"  Who  for  us  and  our  salva- 
tion descended  and  was  in- 
carnate, and  was  made  man, 
suffered,  and  rose  again  the 
third  day,  ascended  into  the 
heavens,  and  will  come  to 
judge  the  living  and  the 
dead. 


"We  believe  also  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  Holy  Cath- 
olic and  Apostolic  Church, 
anathematizing  those  who 
may  say  that  there  was  a 
time  when  the  Son  of  God 
was  not,  and  that  before  he 
was  begotten  he  was  not, 
and  that  he  was  made  out  of 
nothing,  or  out  of  another 
substance  or  essence,  and  is 
created,  or  changeable,  or 
alterable."     Soc.  i.  8. 

"  Such  was  the  Nicene 
Creed,  as  it  stood  originally 
and  before  it  was  interpola- 
ted by  subsequent  councils. 
Our  church  hath  dropped 
the  anathematizing  clauses 


ther  Almighty,  Maker  of 
heaven  and  earth;  of  all 
things  visible  and  invisible. 
We  believe  also  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  begot- 
ten of  him,  without  passion, 
before  all  ages,  God  the 
Word,  the  only  begotten  of 
God,  (who  is)  light,  life, 
truth,  and  wisdom,  by  whom 
all  things  were  made,  in. 
heaven  and  upon  earth,  vis- 
ible and  invisible. 

"We  believe  that  in  the 
end  of  all  ages,  to  abolish 
sin,  he  assumed  flesh  of  the 
holy  Virgin  Mary,  and  be- 
came man,  and  suff"ered  for 
our  offenses,  and  rose  again, 
and  was  taken  up  into  heav- 
en, and  sitteth  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father,  and  shall 
come  again  with  glory  to 
judge  the  living  and  the 
dead. 

"  We  believe  also  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  our  Lord 
and  Savior  called  a  para- 
clete (comforter  or  advo- 
cate), and  promised  to  send 
and  did  send  to  his  disciples 
after  his  departure,  by  which 
also  he  sanctified  all  these, 
in  the  church  who  believe, 
and  are  baptized  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."     Soc.  ii.  40. 

Jortin  says :  "  Socrates, 
who  was  a  candid  man,  says : 
'I  truly  affirm,  if  from  the 
beginning  concerning  the 
Nicene  faith  they  had  so 
thought,  both  they  who  had 


232 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


at  the  end,  and  one  can  not 
help  wishing-  that  the  Nicene 
fathers  had  done  the  same. 
The  Christians  in  the  times 
following  were  perpetually 
making  anathematisms,  even 
upon  the  slightest  and  poor- 
est occasions,  and  it  is  real- 
ly a  wonder  that  they  did 
not  at  last  insert  in  their 
litanies,  iiie  heseech  thee 
to  curse  and  confound  the 
Pelagians,  Semi-Pelagians, 
Nestorians,  Eutychians,  Mo- 
nothelites,  Jacobites,  Icon- 
oclasts, and  all  heretics,  and 
Bchismatics."     Jor.  ii.  67. 

Jortin  says:  "The  truth 
is,  our  part  of  the  world  doth 
not  so  much  abound  with 
persons  by  nature  rigid,  mo- 
rose, fanatical,  and  crack- 
brained,  as  those  regions  do 
which  are  exposed  to  the 
eastern  sun ;  nor  can  our 
bodies  endure  the  same  ab- 
stinence and  harsh  discip- 
line, which  they  are  capable 
of  bearing,  who  are  natives 
of  a  dry  and  burning  cli- 
mate. 

"To  these  religious  dis- 
tempers two  capital  errors 
are  to  be  added,  which,  in 
this  age,  were  almost  gen- 
erally adopted,  and  from 
which  innumerable  calam- 
ities were  derived. 

"The  first  is,  To  lie  and  to 
deceive  become  a  virtue  if 
religion  can  be  profited  by 
it.  The  second  is,  The  wrong 
notions  and  mistakes  of  men 


lived  before  these,  and  they 
who  followed  those,  the 
whole  question  and  conten- 
tion would  have  ceased,  nor 
would  tumult  violent  and 
expert  in  reason  have  had 
power  in  the  church.'"  Jor. 
266. 

True  Christians,  and  I  may 
say  the  true  church,  has  ever 
been  of  this  charitable  and 
true  spirit.  The  cruel  spir- 
it marks  a  false  and  cruel 
church  under  whatever 
name  or  creed. 

Neander  says :  "  Had  these 
articles  only  been  estab- 
lished, then,  yb/'  the  present^ 
the  internal  controversies 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Oriental 
Church  would  have  been 
hushed."  (Mon.  ii.  374.) 
"But  although  this  symbol 
(scriptural  symbol  of  Euse- 
bius)  appeared  satisfactory 
to  the  doctrinal  interests  of 
the  ruling  party  in  the  East- 
ern Church,  yet  the  advo- 
cates of  the  Homoonsion 
system  of  unity  had  still  this 
very  circumstance  to  object 
to  it,  that  it  still  left  a  foot- 
hold for  the  Avhole  Arian  doc- 
trine. The  party  of  Alexan- 
der was  satisfied,  it  is  true, 
with  these  articles  of  faith; 
but  at  the  same  time  they  de- 
clared that  as  the  expression 
of  the  creed  could  still  be 
explained  by  the  Arians  af- 
ter their  own  sense,  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  add 
such  other   propositions   as 


ROMAN    CHURCH 


CHRISTIAN    CUUKCH. 


233 


in  matters  of  faith,  if  upon 
admonition  they  are  not  re- 
nounced and  anathematized, 
are  to  be  chastised  with 
bodily  pains  and  punish- 
ments. 

"It  is  hardly  possible  to 
enumerate  the  multitude  of 
ridiculous  legends,  false  re- 
ports, and  pious  lies,  which 
were  propagated  and  con- 
tinued through  all  ensuing 
ages  to  the  grievous  detri- 
ment of  true  religion,  by 
virtue  of  the  first  of  these 
maxims,  which  indeed  had 
found  reception  in  the  fore- 
going centuries  in  some 
measure.  A  curious  and 
critical  examiner  of  the  ac- 
tions and  writings  of  the 
most  eminent  and  pious  doc- 
tors of  this  age,  will,  I  i'ear, 
find  almost  all  of  them  in- 
fected with  this  leprosy,  not 
excepting  Ambrose  or  Hil- 
ary, or  Augustine,  or  Greg- 
ory Nazianzen,  or  Jerome." 
Jor.  ii.  275, 

Glhhon  says  :  "The  cred- 
it of  his  favorite  Hosius, 
w  h  o  appears  to  have  pre- 
sided in  the  council,  might 
dispose  him  to  favor  the  or- 
thodox party ;  and  a  well- 
timed  hint  that  the  same 
Eusebius  of  Nicomedia,  who 
now  protected  the  heretics, 
had  lately  assisted  the  ty- 
rant (his  enemy)  might  ex- 
asperate him  against  their 
adversaries;"  and  the  em- 
peror becomes  "  the  public 
accuser  of  one  of  his  sub- 
jects, and  complains  of  his 


would  effectually  exclude 
the  doctrine  of  Arius." 
Nean.  ii.  375. 

As  all  historians  agree 
that  Eusebius  of  Caesarea 
represented  at  once  the 
older  church  doctrine,  and 
the  views  of  the  "more  nu- 
merous," "dominant,"  and 
"  the  peace  loving  party"  at 
the  Council  of  Nice,  also 
those  who  adhered  more  te- 
naciously to  the  Bible;  I 
deem  it  important  to  give  a 
more  full  view  of  his  princi- 
ples. 

Jortin  says:  '•'•Under  Con- 
stantine  flourished  Eusehi- 
ns^  the  most  learned  hishop 
of  that  age^  and  the  father  of 
eGolesiastical  history^  whom 
it  were  ingratitude  to  pass 
over  slightly  in  a  work  of 
this  kind.  He  seems  to 
have  been  neither  an  Arian 
nor  an  Athanasian^  but  one 
who  endeavored  to  steer  a 
middle  course.,  yet  inclining 
more  to  the  Arians  than  to 
the  Athanasians.  In  the 
manuscripts  of  Eusebius  we 
find  him  perpetually  cen- 
sured and  reviled  in  margi- 
nal notes  by  Greek  scho- 
liasts, and  called  Arian,  Her- 
etic, Blasphemer,  Detesta- 
ble Wretch,  etc.  He  was 
one  of  those  bishops  who 
judged  that  Arius  had  hard 
measure,  and  who  wrote  a 
letter  in  his  behalf  to  Alex- 
ander  of   Alexandria.     But 


234 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


(Eusebiiis)  hostile  behavior 
during  the  war."  Gib.  ii.  253. 

THE  EMPEROR  LAYS  HIS  SWORD 
IN  THE  SCALES  FOR  HOMOOU- 
SION. 

"And  this  party  (of  Alex- 
ander) had  on  its  side  the 
powerful  suffrage  of  the  em- 
peror himself.  Eusebius  rep- 
resents every  thing  as  pro- 
ceeding in  the  first  place 
solely  from  the  emperor. 
(375,  Note.)  The  Roman 
Church  dates  from  this  pe- 
riod. Here  it  was  formed 
under  the  molding  hand  of 
Constautine  who  became  its 
first  supreme  pontiff.  Here 
its  first  creed  was  formed 
and  established  by  law.  Va- 
rious canons  were  here  pro- 
mulged,  and  a  church  dis- 
cipline was  made  the  law  of 
the  state.  The  law  said 
what  should.,  and  what 
should  not.,  be  preached.'' 

Neander  says  :  "  Chris- 
tianity became  by  degrees 
the  dominant  state  religion., 
though  not  entirely  in  the 
same  sense  as  paganism  had 
been  before.  Constantino 
convoked  an  assembly  of 
bishops  from  all  parts  of  the 
empire,  in  order  to  give  a  de- 
cision for  all  the  Christians 
under  his  government.  The 
decrees  of  these  synods  were 
published  under  the  imperial 
authority,  and  thus  obtained 
a  political  importance. 
Those  only  who  adopted 
them  could  enjoy  all  the 
privileges    of    Catholic 


he  was  a  bad  intercessor 
upon  that  occasion,  and 
probably  had  very  little  in- 
terest with  Alexander.  He 
was  certainly  no  admirer  of 
Athanasius,  yet  not  an  ac- 
tive and  a  violent  adver- 
sary." 

Treating  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity,  he  makes  this 
remark:  '-'- Our  Savior  hath 
taught  us  what  we  ought  to 
think  concerning  him.,  in 
order  to  obtain  salvation : 
God  so  loved  the  world,  thai 
he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth 
in  him,  may  have  life  eter- 
nal. He  says  not,  he  who 
knoweth  his  nature,  but  he, 
who  believeth  in  him. 

"He  observes  that  Christ 
left  his  body  for  a  short 
space  of  time  to  show  that 
he  was  really  dead,  and  re- 
assumed  it  to  manifest  his 
divine  power," 

Eusebius  says:  "It  is  not 
necessary  that  he  who  ac- 
knowledges the  Father  and 
the  Son  to  be  two  distinct 
subsistences,  should  say  that 
there  are  two  Gods;  for  we 
do  not  look  upon  them  as 
two  co-ordinate  persons, 
both  of  them  underived  and 
unbegotten;  but  one  unbe- 
gotten  and  underived,  the 
other  begotten  and  derived 
from  the  Father.  Where- 
fore the  Son  also  teaches  us 
that  his  Father  is  even  his 
God  also  [as  well  as  ours] 
when  he  says  I  ascend  unto 
my  Father  and  your  Father, 


ROMAN  CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.       235 


Christians  favored  by  the 
state ;  and,  in  the  end,  civil 
penalties  were  threatened 
against  those  who  refused 
to  acknowledge  them."  ii. 
140. 

The  great  change  of  whicli 
we  speak,  in  the  relation  of 
the  church  to  the  state, 
must  be  ascribed  to  the 
transition  of  the  Roman  em- 
perors to  the  side  of  Chris- 
tianity. ''The  supreme  magis- 
trates now  considered  them- 
selves as  members  of  the 
church,  and  took  a  personal 
share  in  its  concerns." 

''  In  a  rescript  of  the  year 
314,  when  an  appeal  was 
made  from  an  episcopal  tri- 
bunal to  the  imperial  decis- 
ion, the  Emperor  declared: 
'  The  sentence  of  the  bishops 
must  be  regarded  as  the  sen- 
tence of  Christ  himself  " 

''But,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  flattered  Constantine  so 
to  regard  the  matter,  as  if 
God  had  made  him  master 
of  the  whole  Roman  empire, 
to  the  end  that,  through  his 
instrumentality,  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God  might 
be  everywhere  extended 
and  promoted." 

''Hitherto,  the  sentence 
of  the  bishop  stood  valid 
only  so  f  n*  as  both  parties  had 
voluntarily  agreed  to  sub- 
mit to  it.  Constantine  made 
the  sentenoe  of  the  bishops 
legally  hlnding^  whenever 
the  two  parties  had  once 
agreed  to  repair  to  the  tri- 


unto  my  God  and  your  God. 
But  now  on  the  other  side 
the  Son,  when  he  is  com- 
pared with  the  Father,  can 
not  be  said  to  be  the  God 
of  his  Father,  but  his  only 
begotten  and  beloved  Son, 
and  the  image  of  the  invis- 
ible God,  and  the  Irightness 
of  his  Father's  glory,  and 
honors  and  worships  and 
glorifies  his  Father,  calling 
him  even  ?ils  God  also  [as 
well  as  ours\ 

"It  hath  been  observed 
that  Theophilus  Antioche- 
nus,  who  lived  in  the  second 
century,  is  the  first  in  whose 
writings  the  word  Trinity  is 
used  for  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Spirit."     Jor.  ii.  108. 

But  no  one  would  then 
have  believed  or  advocated 
the  doctrine  since  known  by 
that  name.  Yet  the  word 
was  not  then  objectionable, 
because  it  had  not  yet  been 
abused. 

Eusehius  even  would  say: 
"Trinity,  calling  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  rijv  ay- 
iav  K  naK.aQiav  k  iJ.vatiir]i>  Tpi- 
dSa.^''  (The  holy,  and  bless- 
ed, and  mystical  Trinity.) 

Also  he  refers  to  the 
prophet,  saying: 

"  That  the  same  prophet, 
in  Psalm  ex.,  achnoioledges 
clearly  two  Lords,  the  one 
who  is  the  first  and  the  su- 
preme   God;    the"  secojid 


236 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


bunal,  so  that  no  further  ap- 
peal could  be  made  from  it. 
Thus  a  great  deal  of  busi- 
ness of  a  foreign  nature 
came  upon  the  episcopal 
office."     ii.  130-140. 

Whether  this  was  giving 
the  church  to  Rome,  or  Rome 
to  tlie  church,  can  hardly 
be  a  question.  Unconvert- 
ed pagans  and  sinners  were 
now  prefered  for  the  highest 
offices  in  the  church. 

SINNERS    ORDAINED     BISHOPS. 

A.  D.  374.  "At the  death 
of  Auxentius,  bishop  of  Mi- 
lan, when  an  election  was 
held,  Ambrose  the  governor 
attended;  perhaps  to  keep 
peace,  as  the  Catholics  were 
factious.  'A  child,'  so  the 
story  goes,  'a  child,  perhaps 
instructed,  •  shouted  Am- 
brose!* This  was  considered  a 
voice  from  God,  and  Am- 
brose the  governor  W'as 
elected  bishop.  His  age 
was  thirty-four.  His  new 
election  hurried  his  bap- 
tism." Nean.  ii.  423.  Gib. 
iii.  84. 

TRICK    ON    SEMI-ARIANS. 

"  E  p  h  r  a  i  m  hearin g,  as 
Gregory  tells  us,  that  Apol- 
linaris,  a  man  of  great  rep- 
utation for  his  learning  and 
abilities,  but  reckoned 
amongst  the  heterodox,  had 
committed  his  writings  to 
the  care  of  a  certain  woman, 


vjJiom  he  himself  calls  hia 
Lord^  etcy     Jor.'  i.  95,  107. 

Du  Pin^  the  Catholic, 
says : 

"Eusebius  was  not  author 
of  any  new  formularies  of 
faith;  he  conducted  no  in- 
trigues to  ruin  Athanasius 
and  his  partisans;  he  would 
much  rather  have  been  in- 
strumental. 

"Constantia,  the  sister  of 
Constantine,  wrote  to  Euse- 
bius, to  desire  him  to  send 
her  a  certain  image,  which 
was  supposed  to  be  the  im- 
age of  Jesus  Christ;  for  Eu- 
sebius himself  tells  us  that 
in  his  time  there  were  to  be 
seen  pictures  of  our  Savior, 
of  St.  Peter,  and  of  St  Paul, 
and  that  he  had  seen  at 
Paneas  a  statue  of  Christ, 
which  the  woman  was  said 
to  have  erected  who  had 
been  cured  by  him  of  a 
bloody-flux.  Eusebius  re- 
turned an  answer  to  Con- 
stantia,  of  which  we  have 
only  some  fragment  remain- 
ing. It  appears  that  he 
would  not  send  it  to  her;  but 
as  to  the  reasons  tor  his  re- 
fusal, it  is  not  easy  to  com- 
prehend the  solidity  of  them. 
All  that  can  be  said  is  that 
he  endeavors  to  take  her  off 
I'rom  contemplating  the  hu- 
man nature  of  Christ,  and  to 
induce  her  rather  to  con- 
sider his  divinity.  But  he 
seems  to  go  so  far  as  to  say 
that  his  humanity  had  ceased 
after  his  ascent  into  heaven, 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN"   CHURCH.      237 


made  her  believe  that  he 
was  a  friend  and  disciple  of 
Apollinaris,  and  borrowed 
the  books,  promising  to  re- 
turn them  speedily.  As 
soon  as  he  had  tliem  in  his 
possession,  he  glued  all  the 
leaves  together,  and  re- 
turned the  volumes  to  the 
woman,  and  she  to  Apollin- 
aris, who,  when  he  wanted 
to  make  use  of  them,  found 
all  his  labors  destroyed,  and 
took  it  much  to  heart. 

"Tillemont  judges  fairly, 
and.  calls  this  a  mean  and 
scandalous   trick. 

A.  D.  390.  Nectarius,  a 
Eoman  senator,  "  without 
learning,  talents,  elocution, 
experience  or  baptism,"  was 
elected  as  the  successor 
of  Gregory  Nazianzen,  to 
the  See  of  Constantino- 
ple.— Reeves,  123. 

A.  D.  410.  Jortin  says : 
"Synesius,  a  Platonic  phi- 
losopher of  Cyrene,  was  or- 
dained bishop  of  Ptolemais 
by  Theophilus  of  Alexan- 
dria. As  soon  as  Synesius 
heard  that  the  people  had 
chosen  him,  he  wrote  to  his 
brother  Euoptius  and  gave 
him  the  reasons  for  which 
he  declined  this  honor.  He 
mentions  several,  the  prin- 
cipal of  which  were  that  he 
would  neither  put  away  his 
wife,  nor  keep  her  clandes- 
tinely like  an  adulterer; 
that  he  was  a  Platonist,  and 
could  not  receive  some  doc- 


and  he  hath  been  accused  of 
entertaining  this  opinion." 
Jor.  ii.  108. 

We  thus  see  that  while 
Eusebius  commanded  the 
respect  of  all  parties,  he 
was  neither  a  superstitious 
l)igot,  an  ignorant  image 
worshiper,  nor  a  factionist. 

CHRISTIAN    CHURCH    HISTORY. 

It  is  confessed  by  the  best 
Trinitarian  authorities,  that 
of  all  the  orthodox  or  pop- 
ular historians 

"There  is  not  one  to  whom  the  merit  of 
impartiality  can  lie  attributed  with  justice; 
so  tliat  the  Arian  liistory  stands  yet  in  need 
of  a  pen  guided  by  integrity  and  candor, 
and  unbiased  by  affection  and  hatred.  Both 
sides  have  deserved  reproach  upon  this 
head;  and  those  who  have  hitlierto  written 
the  liistory  of  the  Arian  controversy  have 
only  espied  the  faults  of  one  side."  Mosh. 
i.  1^5.    Note. 

Here  is  a  frank  confession 
of  a  universal  departure 
from  truth  and  charity,  in 
treating  this  subject.  Can 
we  share  in  such  a  spirit  of 
misrepresentation,  and  be 
Christians?  Is  it  not  prob- 
able that  a  faith  which 
works  this  confessed  aban- 
donment of  charity  and  jus- 
tice is  itself  radically  wrong  ? 

Ilmveis  sijs:  lhat"noAV  <- 
borne  down  by  authority, 
the  learned  and  simpler 
Christians  retired  with  the 
Bible  from  the  field  of  con- 
troversy, and  left  the  hon- 
ors of  the  day  to  Plato,  etc., 
—the  mystery  of  God,  and 


238 


CHURCH    HISTORY, 


trines  of  Christianitj^.  He 
believed  in  the  pre-existence 
of  souls,  the  eternity  of  the 
world,"  etc.  Yet  "Theophi- 
lus  ordained  him."     Jor.  ii. 

Synesius  was  a  disciple  of 
Hypatia,  a  lady  of  Alexan- 
dria, much  celebrated  for 
virtue,  learning  and  philos- 
ophy. He  "extols  and  al- 
most adores  her." 

'■'•  Philostorgius  says  that 
she  was  murdered  by  the 
Consubstantialists,  and  Da- 
mascius  says  that  it  was  done 
at  the  instigation  of  Cyril. 
At  any  rate  a  noble  woman,  a 
great  teacher,  was  murdei-ed 
by  a  mob  headed  by  Peter 
of  the  Alexandrian  Church, 
v/ho  lost  no  respect  or  stand- 
ing on  account  of  her  blood. 
But  what  could  be  expected 
of  an  earthly  church  but 
earthly  crimes."     Jor.  ii.  415. 

THE    PERSECUTION. 

;  Neander  says  :  "  Arius  and 

his  two  iaithful  friends  Avere 
excommunicated  as  teachers 
of  error  from  the  church, 
deposed  from  their  spiritual 
oflSce,  and  by  the  Emperor 
Constantine  condemned  to 
banishment.  *  *  Fanat- 
icism impelled  him  already 
to  apply  all  the  expedients 
of  the  Byzantine  despotism 
to  suppress  these  doctrines 
entirely.  *  *  He  directed 
that  all  the  writings  of 
Arius    as    those    of    Por- 


of  the  Father,  and  of  Christ, 
being  thus  subjected  to 
philosophical  investigation, 
and  clothed  in  scholastic 
terms  of  Grecian  science,  a 
host  of  heretical  tenets 
sprung  up  in  the  eclectic 
school,  as  mushrooms  after 
a  shower."  Haweis  i.  198. 

The  name  of  the  saints 
could  not  be  preserved  in 
historical  documents  as  their 
enemies  called  them  oppro- 
brious epithets.  Semi-Ari- 
ans,  Arians,  and  heretics, 
and  their  own  records  and 
books  were  all  burned  by 
the  R  o  m  a  n  government. 
But  while  the  early  Chris- 
tians, the  masses  of  the  peo- 
ple and  the  nations,  reject 
the  Nicene  Creed,  we  have 
reason,  by  the  absence  of 
the  word  from  all  their  quot- 
ed works  to  believe  that 
none  of  the  true  members 
called  themselves  Arians, 
or  by  any  other  name  in 
common  but  that  of  Chris- 
tians. But  the  better  to  de- 
stroy them,  they  stigma- 
tized as  Arians,  and  when 
that  name  was  found  less 
opprobrious  than  desired, 
others  were  added,  falsifying 
all  history. 

^Vaddington  ^^j^'.  "In  a 
formal  edict  addressed  to 
the     bishops     and     people. 


ROMAN    CKURCII. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      239 


phory  should  be  burned ; 
the  penalty  death  even  be- 
in^r  threatened  against  those 
who  should  be  detected  in 
any  clandestine  attempt  to 
preserve  those  writings." 
Nean.  ii.  278. 

Jortin  says:  "He  banished 
Arius  and  the  bisliops  who 
sided  with  him,  and  ordered 
the  books  of  Arius  to  be 
burnt,  and  added:  'If  any 
man  be  found  to  have  con- 
cealed a  copy  of  those  books, 
and  not  to  have  instantly 
produced  it  and  thrown  it 
into  the  fire,  he  shall  be  put 
to  death.  The  Lord  be  with 
vou  all.'  "  Soc.  i.  39.  Jor.  i. 
(32. 

For  Constantine  though 
zealous  was  cruel.  On  the 
misrepresentation  of  his  sec- 
ond wife,  Fausta,  he  put  his 
own  son  Crispus  to  death. 
When  better  informed  by 
his  mother,  he  had  Fausta 
cast  into  the  glowing  fur- 
nace of  a  bath.  Three 
months  later,  with  Eusebius 
of  Nicomedia,  and  Theognis, 
who  had  signed  the  creed 
but  declined  signing  the 
condemnation  of  their  breth- 
ren, it  turned  out  as  Theonas 
and  Secundus  had  told  them. 
They  were  not  spared  but 
also  banished  ;  banished  be- 
cause they  could  not  con- 
Bcientiously  curse,  or  anathe- 


Constantine  compares  the 
blindness  of  Arius  to  that 
of  Porphory,  and  commands 
his  followers  to  be  designa- 
ted by  the  ignominious  name 
of  Porphorians.  He  then 
proceeds  to  consign  the 
books  of  Arius  to  the  flames, 
n  e  a  r  1  y  i  n  the  following 
terms  :  '  If  any  man  be  found 
to  have  concealed  a  copy 
of  those  books,  and  not  to 
have  instantly  produced  it 
and  thrown  it  into  the  fire, 
he  shall  be  put  to  death. 
The  moment  he  is  convicted 
of  this  he  shall  be  subject- 
ed to  capital  punishment. 
The  Lord  continue  to  pre- 
serve you.'"  Soc.  i.  32.  Wad. 
p.  9(i. 

Burning  was  thought  "  too 
cruel  for  traitors,  murderers, 
parricides;"  but  was  re- 
served for  "heretics;"  and 
this  love  for  burning  heretics 
is  not  yet  eradicated  from  the 
Romanheart.    Jor.  ii.  137. 

Ilosheim  saj^s :  ."Those 
who,  in  the  main,  were  far 
from  being  attached  to  the 
party  of  Arius,  found  many 
things  rei^rehensible,  both 
in  the  decrees  of  the  coun- 
cil, and  in  the  forms  of  ex- 
pression which  it  employed 
to  explain  the  controverte'i 
points;  while  the  Arians, 
on  the  other  hand,  left  no 
means  untried  to  heal  their 
wounds,  and  to  recover  their 
place  and  their  credit  in  the 
church.  And  their  efforts 
were  crowned  with  the  de- 


240 


cnuRcn  niSTORF. 


matize  a  brother  for  holding 
the  same  doctrine  with  the 
anathematizers,  excej^ting 
only  on  one  metaphysical 
point,  which  was  unrevealed ; 
the  one  held  that — 

I.  Christ  shared  the  very 
essence  and  substance  of 
the  Father's  own  being. 
The  other  that — 

II.  Christ  was  begotten 
simply  of  God's  will  and 
power,  all  divine,  but  not  of 
any  previous  essence. 

The  former  seems  the 
truth;  but  no  man  has  a 
right  to  persecute  another 
for  not  believing  it. 

A.  D.  329,  November  26. 
Constantinople  was  founded 
at  Byzantium. 

Ilaioeis  says:  "  Heresy 
a;nd  schism  abounded,  and 
wickedness  of  every  kind, 
like  a  flood,  deluged  the 
Christian  world;  whilst  the 
heads  of  tlie  Church  more 
engaged  in  controversy,  and 
a  thousand  times  more  jeal- 
ous about  securing  and  in- 
creasing their  own  wealth 
and  pre-eminence,  than  pre- 
senting examples  of  humil- 
ity, patience,  deadness  to 
the  world,  and  heavenly- 
mindedness,  were,  like  glad- 
iators, armed  in  all  their 
councils,  and  affected  impe- 
rial power  and  pomp  in  the 
greater  dioceses. 


sired  success;  for,  a  few 
years  after  the  Council  of 
Nice,  an  Arian  priest,  who 
had  been  recommended  to 
the  emperor,  in  the  dying 
words  of  his  sister  Constan- 
tia,  found  means  to  persuade 
him,  that  the  condemnation 
of  Arius  was  utterly  unjust, 
and  was  rather  occasioned 
by  the  malice  of  his  ene- 
mies, than  by  their  zeal  for 
the  truth.  In  consequence 
of  this,  the  emperor  recalled 
him  from  banishment  in 
the  year  330,  repealed  the 
laws  that  had  been  enacted 
against  him,  and  permitted 
his  chief  protector  Eusebius 
of  Nicomedia,  and  his  vin- 
dictive faction  to  vex  and 
oppress  the  partisans  of  the 
Nicene  Council  in  various 
ways."     Mosh.  i.  162. 

Mosheim  has  true  sympa- 
thy for  his  brethren,  who 
were  vexed,  that  their  oppo- 
nents were  suffered  to  live. 

The  parties  in  the  Eoman 
Church  were  the  Arians, 
Trinitarians,  and  Semiari- 
ans.  I  have  no  sympathy 
with  Arianism  of  any  form, 
pure,  semi,  or  plus;  Arian, 
half  Arian  or  triarian; 
Catholics  or  heretics;  yet 
under  all  these  names  the 
followers  of  Jesus  have 
been  persecuted.  I  shall 
not,  therefore,  be  deterred 
from  recognizing  my  Savior 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHEISTIAN    CHURCH.       241 


By  degrees  the  people  be- 
came degraded  into  annihi- 
lation ;  their  voice  neither 
asked,  nor  their  consent 
deemed  any  longer  neces- 
sary. Even  the  presbyters 
bowed  to  sovereign  episco- 
pal sway,  and  ministerial 
court  appointments.  The 
prelatical  government  be- 
came modeled  after  the  im- 
perial, into  great  prefect- 
ures, of  which  Rome,  Alex- 
andria, Antioch,  and  Con- 
stantinople, claimed  su]3eri- 
ority,  whilst  a  sort  of  feu- 
dality  was  established, 
descending  from  patriarchs 
to  metropolitans,  archbish- 
ops, bishops,  some  with 
greater  and  others  with  less 
extensive  spheres  of  domin- 
ion. Thus  each  was  seen 
grasping  at  more  than  be- 
longed to  them  ;  contentious 
to  enlarge  their  own  re- 
spective privileges  and  im- 
munities, yet  cordially  con- 
spiring to  erect  the  most 
despotic  pretensions  of  epis- 
copal authority  over  all  the 
Christian  world  beside." 
Haw,.  1.  162. 

RECALL    OF   ARIUS. 

ITaiveis  says:  "  After  the 
death  of  his  mother  Helena, 
his  sister  Constantia  gaining 
great  influence  over  Con- 
stantine,  Arius  and  his  party, 
whom  she  befriended,  had 
their  c  o  n  d  e  m  nation  re- 
versed,    A.  D.  336;  and 

16 


beneath  the  foul  spittle, 
crown  of  thorns,  or  the  pur- 
ple robe,  with  which  his  en- 
emies covered  him ;  nor  his 
persecuted  saints  beneath 
the  opprobrious  names  and 
misrej)resentations  which 
their  enemies  heaped  upon 
them.  The  masses  were 
(Christians.  The  govern- 
ment party  were  Catholics; 
whether  Arian,  Semiarian, 
or  Trinitarian,  all  was  Arian, 
gloryfying  the  name  of  him 
whose  memory  they 
deprecated ;  adopting  the 
heresy  they  abliored,  and 
destroying  the  Church  which 
they  loved.  Many  Chris- 
tians were  in  the  Roman 
Church ;  but  henceforth  as 
a  worldly  corporation  i  t 
must  stand  outside  of  the 
sacred  record;  as  a  branch 
cut  off,  an  offshoot,  an  apos- 
tasy, tares  and  cheat;  with 
manifold  chaff  and  even 
some  wheat.  But  the  wheat 
whether  in  Babylon  or 
Rome,  among  chaff  or  cheat, 
is  ijrecious  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord,  j)recious  to  the 
saints,  and  none  the  less 
Christian,  because  that  they, 
as  plants  of  Paradise,  are 
found  blooming  in  arid  des- 
ert; trees  of  the  Lord's  vine- 


242 


CHURCH     HISTOKY. 


though  the  Nicene  Creed 
continued  unrepealed,  Ath- 
anasiup,  who  had  succeeded 
Alexander  at  Alexandria, 
and  the  orthodox  Trinitari- 
ans, I'ound  the  courtly  par- 
ty, with  the  emperor  at 
their  back,  strong  enough 
to  counteract  all  that  had 
been  decided,  and  to  turn 
the  tables  of  persecution  on 
the  orthodox.  Alexander, 
the  bishop,  refused  to  re- 
ceive Arius  into  commun- 
ion, though,  in  compliance 
with  the  emperor's  order, 
he  had  subscribed  the  Ni- 
cene Creed,  and  conhrmed 
it  by  an  oath,  under  an  eva- 
sion, if  Sozomen  is  to  be 
credited,  the  most  shocking. 
Certain  it  is  he  was  not  be- 
lieved by  the  orthodox.  It 
is  said,  that  Alexander,  bish- 
op of  Constantinople,  or- 
dered by  the  emperor  to  re- 
ceive him  to  the  Lord's  Ta- 
ble: with  fasting  and  prayer 
invoked  God,  either  that 
he  might  himself  die  be- 
fore the  day  appointed,  if 
Arius  was  in  tlie  right,  or 
that  he  would  cut  off  Arius, 
and  save  him  from  what  he 
counted  such  a  disgrace  as 
communicating  with  him. 
On  the  very  day  of  decision, 
Arius  died  in  a  very  extra- 
ordinary manner.  That  the 
deatli  of  Arius,  in  such  a 
case,  and  after  such  a  night 
of  fasting  and  prayer,  must 
appear  suspicious,  is  no 
wonder  5  and  I  must  believe. 


yard  enriching  the  world's 
forest  with  heavenly  fruit* 
or,  like  captives,  they  culti- 
vate  a  barren  country. 
Christians  exist  everywhere. 
By  their  fruits  we  know  them. 
Wherever  Christians  are 
there  is  the  true  church, 
wherever  there  are  Arians 
of  any  class.  Catholics,  or 
sectarians,  there  is  a  false 
church,  but  even  there, 
there  may  be  true  Chris- 
tians. 

The  Odium  IJieologiGum 
is  often  a  Upas  of  death, 
spreading  its  poisonous 
branches  over  every  pleas- 
ant plant;  and  truth  instead 
of  being  nurtured  by  its 
shade,  sickens  and  dies, 
while  the  serpent  of  sin 
finds  a  home  at  its  root. 

"  On  tie  tromi)era  2'>oini 
snr  Constantin,  en  croyant 
le  mal  qii'en  dit  Ensele^  et 
le  lien  qii'en  dit  ZosimeP 
(One  will  not  deceive  him- 
self about  Constantine,  by 
believing  the  evil  which 
Eusebius  says  of  him,  and 
the  good  which  Zosimus 
says  of  him.)     Jor.  ii.  71. 

So  also  of  the  Arians  and 
Consubstantialists.  We  be- 
lieve the  good  and  reject 
the  evil,  which  they  say  of 
each  other.  But  as  the  Ro- 
mans burned  all  the  books 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.       243 


if  the  matter  be  rightly  rep- 
resented, it  would  injure, 
much  more  than  serve,  the 
cause  ot  orthodoxy.  It  gives 
us  on  both  sides  an  awful 
spectacle  of  the  kind  of 
spirit  which  prevailed  in 
the  emperor,  his  courtiers, 
the  orthodox  patriarch,  and 
the  heresiarch  Arius.  The 
Church  of  Christ  has  small 
pretensions  to  spirituality 
amidst  such  combatants. 
I  confess,  I  know  not  where 
to  give  credit.  Deeds  are 
done  on  both  sides  so  con- 
trary to  every  principle  of 
love  and  the  spirit  of  meek- 
ness and  truth,  that  I  stand 
like  a  man  in  court,  be- 
tween two  witnesses,  swear- 
ing to  contradictions."  i. 
259. 

Maclaine  in  Mosheim 
says:  "The  causes  of  this 
tragical  death  have,  howev- 
er, furnished  much  matter 
of  dispute.  The  ancient 
writers,  who  considered  this 
event  as  a  judgment  of 
heaven,  miraculously  drawn 
down,  by  the  prayers  of  the 
just  to  punish  the  impiety 
of  Arius,  will  find  little 
credit  in  our  times,  among 
such  as  have  studied  with 
attention  and  impartiality 
the  history  of  Arianism. 
After  having  considered  this 
matter  with  the  utmost 
care,  it  appears  to  me  ex- 
tremely probable,  that  this 
unhappy  man  was  a  victim 
to  the  resentment  of  his  en- 


of  other  Christians,  with  the 
persons  of  any  who  secret- 
ed them,  there  remains  no 
record  of  the,  worse  than 
pagan  cruelties,  except 
the  barbarous  laws,  and 
more  than  barbarous  ac- 
counts contained  in  the  con- 
fessions of  the  cruel  perse- 
cutors. There  is  no  record 
how  many  thousands  or  mill- 
ions were  put  to  death  by 
those  who  made  laws  con- 
demning other  Christians  to 
the  flames ;  before  the  many 
hundreds  of  bishops,  and 
thousand  of  ministers,  and 
millions  of  people  ;  and  cit- 
ies, and  nations  were  com- 
pelled to  adopt  the  new  re- 
ligion. Therefore  we  are 
safe  in  believing  all  the 
good  which  Catholics  con- 
fess of  other  Christians,  and 
all  the  evil  which  they  con- 
fess of  themselves.  But  in 
the  absence  of  any  laws 
condemning  Catholics  to 
death,  or  their  books  to  the 
flames,  or  any  law  prohibit- 
ing their  meetings,  or  any 
law  compelling  them  under 
pain  of  banishment  to  sign 
any  creed  which  they  did 
not  believe,  we  can  not 
charge  the  Christians  with 
any  comparatively  cruel  per- 
secution. 


244 


CHURCH    HISTORY, 


emies,  and  was  destroyed  by- 
poison,  or  some  such  violent 
method,  A  blind  and  fanat- 
ical zeal  for  certain  systems 
of  faith,  has  in  all  ages  pro- 
duced such  horrible  acts  of 
cruelty  and  injustice."  i. 
126, 

constantine's    baptism    and 

DEATH. 

"  Constantino,  now  in  the 
sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age, 
felt  the  effect  of  disease  with 
the  infirmity  of  age,  and  re- 
paired to  Helenopolis,  Bi- 
thynia  (a  city  founded  by  liis 
mother),  in  order  to  use  the 
warm  springs.  His  malady 
grew  worse.  He  then  vis- 
ited the  castle  near  Nico- 
media,  where,  having  called 
together  an  assembly  of 
bishops,  and  in  their  pres- 
ence was  baptized  by  Euse- 
bius,  the  bishop  of  Nicome- 
dia,  A.  D,  337,  shortly  before 
his  death."  For  "it  was  not 
the  custom  in  this  period  for 
all  to  receive  baptism  im- 
mediately after  embracing 
the  faith;  but  many,  espe- 
cially in  the  East,  deferred 
it.  *  *  It  is  most  probable 
that,  carrying  his  heathen 
superstition  into  Christian- 
ity, he  looked  upon  bap- 
tism as  a  sort  of  rite  for  the 
magical  removal  of  sin," 
Nean,  ii,  29, 

Great  monuments  remain 
to  the  memory  of  Constan- 
tine : 


The  persecution  of  which 
the  Catholic  complains  was 
generally  the  excluding  of 
some  factious  bishops  from 
a  see  decided  to  belong  to 
another,  or  preventing  a  tur- 
bulent sectarian  from  divid- 
ing the  fold. 

Most  Catholics  consider 
all  their  own  acts  of  cruelty 
as  "doing  God  service,"  but 
without  charity  or  humanity, 
represent  the  dying  strug- 
gles at  the  stake  of  other 
Christians;  yea,  the  very 
dying  groans  of  their  victims, 
as  overt  acts  of  persecution 
against   the   Catholics. 

Well  knowing  that  they 
are  unreliable  historians,  we 
are  not  safe  in  believing 
their  uncharitable  accounts 
of  those  Avhom  they  slaugh- 
tered. 

There  were  only  eighteen 
Arians  at  Nice,  and  but  two 
bishops  refused  to  sign  the 
c  r  e  e  d.  Yet  Neander  in- 
forms us  that  the  majority 
of  the  Council  were  what 
were  called  Semiarians,  af- 
terward denominated  Ari- 
ans, and  that  these  repre- 
sented such  a  majority  of  all 
Christians  East  and  West 
and  of  the  surrounding  na- 
tions, that  centuries  elapsed 


ROMAN  CIIURCU. 


CHRISTIAN   CHUSCH.       245 


I.  The  destruction  of  Pa- 
ganism in  the  Roman  Em- 
pire. 

II.  The  organization  of 
the  Roman  Church,  which 
he  founded,  and  made  the 
protege  of  the  Empire,  A.  D. 
325. 

III.  The  city  of  Constanti- 
nople, which  he  founded, 
A.  D.  329,  on  the  site  of  the 
old  city  of  Byzantium. 

IV.  His  laws  for  the  re- 
formation of  the  customs  of 
the  Empire. 

THE   LAWS   OP   CONSTANTINE. 

Constantine  made  many 
laws  which  are  remarkable, 
and  show  the  character  of 
the  people  where  such  laws 
were  required. 

He  made  a  law  against 
gladiatorial  shows;  abolish- 
ed crucifixion,  breaking  the 
legs  and  marking  the  face 
with  red  hot-iron. 

He  made  a  law  against 
rapes,  and  that  nurses  as- 
sisting in  stealing  away  vir- 
gins should  have  hot  lead 
poured  down  their  throats. 
Barbarous ! 

He  forbid  seizing  the  la- 
borers or  tools  for  taxes. 

He  restrained  a,nd  limited 
divorces. 


before  the  new  doctrine  pre- 
V ailed.  As  the  Roman 
Church  finally  discarded  sim- 
ple Arianism  and  adopted 
Trinitarianism,  Arian  came 
to  be  applied  to  all  opposers 
of  the  Roman  Church ;  Semi- 
arian  to  those  who  thought 
friendly  of  both  parties,  ad- 
hered to  the  Bible;  or  such 
confessions  as  both  admit- 
ted to  be  orthodox,  Trinita- 
rian to  those  who  went  be- 
yond the  Arians,  not  only 
carrying  their  human  spec- 
ulations to  the  Son,  but  to 
the  Father  and  Holy  Ghost 
also.  Both  pure  Arians  and 
Trinitarians  seemed  to  for- 
get the  words  of  Jesus  : 
"And  no  man  knoweth  the 
Son,  but  the  Father;  neither 
knoweth  any  man  the 
Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he 
to  whomsoever  the  Son  will 
reveal  liimy 

THE    COUNCILS. 

A  star  designates  a  gene- 
ral council. 

A.  D.  269.  The  Council 
of  A  n  t  i  o  c  h  condemned 
Paul  (the  bishoj)  of  An- 
tioch) ;  and  the  doctrine  that 
Christ  is  Homoousioii  with 
the  Father. 


246 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


He  exempted  ministers 
from  civil  offices  and  duties. 

He'  restrained  exorbitant 
usury. 

He  ordered  prisoners  to 
be  used  well,  and  made  laws 
favoring  debtors  and  slaves. 

He  granted  all  to  make 
bequests  to  the  church. 

He  apj>ointed  that  poor 
parents  of  large  families 
should  be  relieved  out  of 
the  treasury. 

Those  who  disinherited 
their  children  for  no  fault, 
were  to  be  regarded  as  idi- 
ots, and  their  wills  set  aside. 

Natural  children  became 
legitimate  on  the  marriage 
of  their  parents. 

Bishops  had  civil  jurisdic- 
tion, and  cases  were  to  be 
decided  on  the  single  testi- 
mony of  a  bishop. 

He  made  laws  to  relieve 
the  poor,  tlie  sick,  helx^less 
and  children. 

He  made  adultery  a  capi- 
tal crime,  punishable  with 
death. 

He  made  a  law  that  no 
woman  of  reputation  should 
be  arrested  for  debt. 

He  encouraged  appeals 
against  his  officers  and  gov- 
ernors. 

He  encouraged  matrimony 
by  rewards,  and  discouraged 
celibacy  by  penalties. 


A.  D.  314.  The  Council 
of  Aries,  of  two  hundred 
bishops,  condemned  the  Do- 
natists,  a  very  numerous 
people  in  Africa.  They  had 
over  five  hundred  bishops 
all  opposed  to  the  Roman 
hierarchy. 

A.  D.  412.  Donatists  was 
a  name  given  by  the  Ro- 
mans to  the  African  Chris- 
tians who  rejected  the  Ro- 
man Church.  Ceciliaii,  a 
deacon,  being  choson  bishop 
of  Carthage,  Donatus,  with 
seventy  bishops,  assembled 
in  council  at  Carthage  and 
deposed  him;  but  Cecilian 
appealed  to  Rome,  and  the 
Council  of  Aries,  in  314, 
with  two  hundred  bishops, 
decided  that  the  African 
bishops  were  wrong  and  Ce- 
cilian right. 

Reeves,  the  Catholic,  con- 
fesses:  "The  Donatists  in 
number  {i.  e.,  in  Africa) 
surpassed  the  Catholics. 
They  reckoned  about  five 
hundred  bishops  of  their 
sect ;  there  was  scarce  a 
town  in  Africa  which  had 
not  two  bishops — a  Catholic 
and  a  Donatist.  Some  were 
fined,  others  banished."  Af- 
ter "•  the  severity  of  the 
laws"  had  failed  to  extermi- 
nate them  after  one  hundred 
years,  the  Catholics  con- 
fess that  in  the  great  Coun- 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.      247 


He  abolished  the  obscene 
rites  of  the  priests  of  the 
Eiver-God  Nile,  and  de- 
stroyed the  temple  of  Venus 
lor  its  debauchery. 

He  made  laws  for  the  re- 
ligious observance  of  Sun- 
day; and  obliged  soldiers 
on  that  day  to  repeat  a 
prayer  to  one  God.     He  said: 

"  Sicut  indignisimiim  vide- 
hatur  diem  Solis,  venera- 
iione  sui  celehrem.^  altcrGan- 
t'lhus  jxLrgus  et  noxiis  j>(it'ti- 
um.  eontenionihus  ocGiipari, 
ita  gratuvi  ac  jooundum 
est.,  eo  die  quoe  sunt  maxi- 
ma votiva  compleri:  atqiie 
ideo  emancipandi  et  mami- 
mittendi  die  festo  cuncti 
licentium  haheant.,  et  super 
his  rebtcs  actus  non  prohih- 
eantur^''     Jot.  ii.  132. 

Which  we  translate: 
Just  as  it  seemed  most  im- 
proper that  the  day  of 
the  sun,  noted  by  its 
worship,  should  be  occupied 
by  contending  disputes  and 
injurious  quarrels  of  parties, 
so  (it  seemed)  agreeable 
and  delightful  that  the  sac- 
rifices which  are  greatest  be 
paid  upon  that  day:  and, 
therefore,  upon  the  festal 
day  all  have  liberty  of  eman- 
cipating and  njanumitting 
and  about  these  things 
business  is  not  prohibited. 


oil  of  Africa,  June  1,  412, 
the  Donatists  met  the  two 
hundred  and  eighty-six 
Catholic  prelates  with  two 
hundred  and  seven  Dona- 
tists. They  also,  says 
Reeves.,  the  Catholic,  "  as- 
serted that  the  Son  was  less 
than  the  Father,"  and  that 
"•the  true  church  was  found 
only  among  them."  Augus- 
tine, p.  14r,  142. 

A.  D.  414.  Jortin  says, 
"Honorius  published  a  most 
cruel  decree  "  against  them, 
by  which  they  were  plunged 
into  despair  and  fury.  Do- 
natus,  bishop,  attempted  to 
kill  himself,  and  another  de- 
termined to  set  fire  to  the 
church  and  die  with  his  con- 
gregation. The  civil  magis- 
trate knew  not  what  to  do. 
He  was  afraid  by  sparing 
them  of  offending  the  em- 
peror, and  equally  afraid  of 
driving  them  to  self  murder, 
by  enforcing  the  cruel  law. 
"St.  Augustine  advised  the 
utmost  rigor  as  the  best 
way  of  converting"  them, 
as  it  was  "better  that  some 
should  burn  themselves  than 
that  all  should  burn  eternal- 
ly in  hell."  ( Jor.  ii.  408.)  And 
even  sent  to  the  emperor 
desiring  him  to  appoint  of- 
ficers who  would  execute 
the   laws   promptly,  so  im- 


248 


CHURCU    HISTORY. 


.  He  carried  to  the  wars  a 
tent  church,  where  with 
presbyters  and  deacons  he 
prayed  and  had  divine  serv- 
ice, and  began  the  custom 
of  appointing  chaplains  for 
the  army. 

He  built  many  churches; 
one  he  dedicated  to  the 
twelve  apostles,  and  de- 
signed being  buried  there, 
from  which  followed  a  cus- 
tom of  burying  in  churches. 
When  his  statue  was 
bruised,battered  with  stones, 
vindictive  persons  told  him 
that  his  face  was  marred,  he 
put  his  hand  up  and  said :  "  I 
do  not  feel  it." 

Nicephorus,  a  Catholic, 
declared  that  God  had  en- 
dued the  "urn  and  statue  of 
Constantino  with  miracu- 
lous powers;  and  the  pa- 
gans made  him  a  God."  Jor. 
ii.  71. 

He  commanded  the  dis- 
continuance of  any  heretic- 
al, i.  e.,  any  non-conformist 
meetings,  and  all  such  books 
to  be  sought  for  and  burnt, 
condemning  to  the  flames 
those  who  should  secrete 
them.  By  such  laws  the 
world  is  deprived  of  many 
valuable  writings  of  good 
men.     Jor.  ii.  123,  140. 


patient   was    the    saint    for 
blood. 

The  Donatists.  The  Ro- 
mans to  convert,  persecuted 
them,  and  to  silence,  slaugh- 
tered them.  Then  when 
some,  perhaps  not  professors, 
turned  upon  their  murder- 
ers, they  called  these  bad 
men,  as  they  were,  and 
charged  the  crimes  of  these 
which  they  themselves  had 
provoked  by  greater  crueUy, 
to  the  religion  of  the  inno- 
cent Donatists.  Milner  the 
bigot,  complacently  says: 
"Some  of  them  were,  com- 
paratively speaking,  a  mild 
and  peaceable  people,  oth- 
ers, called  the  Circumcel- 
lions,  were  a  mere  banditi. 
i.  43. 

A.  T).  341.  Constatiiine 
left  three  sons,  Constantino, 
Constantius,  and  Constans. 
To  Constantine  the  eldest  he 
gave  Britain,  Spain,  Gaul, 
and  all  that  lies  on  this  side 
the  Alps.  Constantius,  his 
second  son,  inherited  Thrace, 
Asia  Minor,  Egypt,  and  the 
East.  Constans,  the  young- 
est, had  Italy,  Africa,  Greece, 
and  Illyricum. 

Constantkis  adhered  to 
the     orthodox     faith     then 


ROMAN   CHURCU. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.       249 


THE   CATHOLIC    HERESY. 

CATHOLIC  TESTIMONY  250,  THE 
HARLOT  252,  TEN  HORNS  2GU, 
DRAGON  2(j-t,  SERPENT  208,  TO- 
PE IIV,  NU.MA,  271,  POPE  EM- 
PEROR 278,  FLEURY  279,  DA- 
MASLTS  282,  ARIAN  POPE  281, 
AUGUSTINE  288,  293,  AMBROSE 
290,  JEROME  297,  VALENS302, 
FIRST  CATHOLIC  EMPEROR  305, 
THE  NATIONS  314,  PERSECUT- 
ING LAWS  318,  EPHESU8  324, 
POPES  COUNCILS,  FIFTH  CEN- 
TURY, 334,  SIXTH  CENTURY 
337,  SEVENTH  342,  EIGHTH 
348,  NINTH  354,  TENTH  35G, 
ELEVENTH  3G9,  TWELFTH  374, 
THIRTEENTH  380, FOURTEENTH 
383,  FIFTEENTH  390,  SIX- 
TEENTH 391,  SEVENTEENTH, 
396,  EIGHTEENTH  398,  NINE- 
TEENTH 399. 

The  passing  over  of  the 
Roman  power  from  the  em- 
peror to  tlie  pope,  after  tlie 
fall  of  paganism,  is  repre. 
sented  in  Revelation  by  a 
series  of  emblems  which 
can  not  be  mistaken. 

Rev.  XII.  The  dragon  of 
paganism  is  overcome.  XIII. 
The  beast  of  popeiy  comes 
up,  and  the  dragon  gives 
the  pope  his  power.  Rev. 
XVII.  The  beast,  or  pope, 
carries  the  false  chnrcli, 
whose  name  is  "Mysterv 
Babylon."  This  so  plainly 
refers  to  Rome  that  tlie  best 
Catholic  writers  confess  it. 
To  make  this  clear,  I  give 
the  following  Irom  the  Corn- 


called  Semiarian^  in  which 
his  father  died. 

Constans  and  Consian- 
iine,  nnder  the  influence  of 
the  Roman  priest,  held  to 
the  new  form  since  called 
Tri/iitariaji. 

Reeves  says  Constantine 
was  soon  cut  off  by  an  un- 
timely death.  In  him  the 
Catholic  cause  lost  a  pow- 
erful protector,  (page  103.) 
About  this  time  Eusebius 
died.  A  good  man,  and 
greater  than  an  emperor. 

THE    NICENE    COUNCIL.* 

A.  D.  325.  With  from  Iwo 
hundred  and  fifty  to  three 
hundred  and  eighteen  bish- 
ops. (Wad.  p.  94.)  It  con- 
demned Arius  and  the  doc- 
.  trine  that  Christ  was  created 
of  nothing,  but  established 
the  '•'•  IIoinoou,non  doctrine. 
It  was  like  a  battle  fought 
in  the  dark."  Soc.  Jor.  ii. 
36. 

A.  D.  325.  The  Council 
of  Nice  adopted  Ilomoousion 
after  a  great  display  of  bit- 
terness and  debat.e.  "  It  was 
like  a  battle  fought  in  the 
dark."     Jor.  ii.  36. 

A.  D.335.  The  Council  of 
Tyre  condemned  the  '■'■Ilo- 
moousion doctrine."  Jor.  ii. 
43. 


250 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


mentary  on  Revelation  xvii. 
from  the  most  learned  of  all 
the  Catholic  divines. 

The  Venerable  and  Right 
Reverend  Charles  Welmes- 
ley,D.  D.,  Catholic  Bishop,  or 
Vicar  Apostolic,  of  the 
Western  district  (in  En- 
gland), Fellow  of  the  Roy- 
al Society  of  London  and 
Berlin;  and  one  of  the  sci- 
entific men  employed  in 
correcting  the  old  style. 
His  work  is  called,  '•  The 
General  History  of  the 
Christian  Church,  c  h  i  e  fl  y 
adduced  from  the  Apoca- 
lypse of  St.  John."  By  Sig. 
Pastorini.     The  editor  says: 

"This  pious,  and  venera- 
ble divine  was  not  '  a  san- 
guinary bigot.'  The  whole 
teror  of  his  life  and  writings 
proves  that  he  was  a  most 
mild  and  enliglitened  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  com- 
munion. The  work  before 
us  abundantly  establishes 
this  character.  Sir  R.  Mus- 
grave  calls  it  '  a  piece  of 
folly  and  blasphemy.'  Dr. 
Milner  calls  it '  a  most  ingen- 
ious and  learned  exposition 
of  the  book  of  Revelation, 
calculated  to  excite  all 
Christians  to  lead  a  holy 
life,  and  to  prepare  for  the 
coming  of  that  awful  Judge, 
before  whom  Sir  Richard 
Musgrave  will  be  arraigned 


A.  D.  341.  The  Secona 
Council  of  Antioch  rejected 
Homoousion. 

A.  L>.  347.  The  Council  of 
Sardica.  Three  hundred  and 
seventy  bishops  divided. 
Part  voted  for  and  part  (re- 
tiring to  Philippi)  voted 
against  it.     Jor.  ii.  44. 

A.  D.  350.  The  Council  of 
Sirmium.  The  bishops  la- 
bored to  compromise  all  dif- 
ferences. "Cave  calls  them 
Semiarians,  yet  their  canons 
were  received  as  those  of 
other  councils."     Jor.  ii.  45. 

"In  the  fourth  century 
there  were  held  thirteen 
councils  against  Arius,  fif- 
teen for  him,  and  seventeen 
for  the  Semiarians;  in  all 
forty-five."     Wad.  98,  99. 

The  number  and  faith  of 
the  councils  were  propor- 
tionate to  the  faith  of  the 
people. 

A.  D.  3G0.  One  error  be- 
gets another.  Having  be- 
gun a  new  Savior  all  his 
parts  had  to  be  made  new 
to  coirespond.  As  a  tangi- 
ble body,  crucified,  could 
not  be  denied,  therefore,  the 
divinity  of  the  Savior  wa? 
moved  olf  its  true  basis  of 
Sonship,  and  had  to  assume 
all  the  character  of  the  Jirsi 
cause.    But  as  the  first  cause 


ROMAN   CIIURCir. 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.      251 


for  his  unprecedented   mal- 
ice and  calumnies.'" 

He  died  in  1797,  aged  sev- 
enty-six years;  after  he  had 
been  a  Roman  bishop  forty 
years.  We  will  transcribe 
his  seventeenth  of  Revela- 
tion. The  learned  writer 
endeavors  to  fix  the  appli- 
cation to  pagan  Rome,  but 
is  forced  by  history  to  carry 
it  to  the  fourth  century,  and 
finds  its  fulfillment  during 
the  reign  of  papal  Rome. 

"St.  John  is  here  invited, 
ver.  1.,  to  be  a  spectator  of 
the  divine  punishment  upon 
the  great  harlot,  who  repre- 
sents pagan  Rome,  as  we 
shall  see  presently.  The 
invitation  comes  with  pro- 
priety from  one  of  the  seven 
angels  who  held  the  vials  of 
the  wrath  of  God,  as  it  was 
the  function  of  those  angels 
to  execute  the  divine  judg- 
ment on  mankind.  Tlie 
apostle  is  therefore  taken 
up,  as  he  thought,  by  the 
angel,  \'er.  3,  into  a  desert, 
that  very  desert  where 
Rome  stood.  The  country 
round  that  metropolis  of 
the  world  was  filled  with 
towns  and  inhabitants  while 
she  maintained  her  power, 
but  wiien  the  barbarous  na- 
tions came  upon  her  like 
furious  lions,  they  laid  waste 
the  lands  all  around  for 
many  miles,  they  razed  the 
towns    to    the    ground,    and 


could  not  be  a  man,  the  man 
was  added,  and  Christ  be- 
came the  common  name  of 
a  firm,  or  company  of  at 
least  two  beings  and  perhaps 
three  persons  or  more. 

TIIK    CAPITAL. 

On  the  removal  of  the 
capital  from  Rome  to  By- 
zantium, the  bishops  of 
Rome  sustained  a  new  rela- 
tion to  the  Christian  world. 
The  dragon  of  Paganism,  or 
the  Pagan  Roman  Govern- 
ment was  overthrown  by 
Constantine  ;  but  the  defeat- 
ed dragon  gave  his  power  to 
the  beast.  The  dragon  was 
the  Pagan  Government, 
the  beast  popery.  The  bish- 
ops of  Rome  could  not  as- 
sume the  liigh  oflBce  and  an- 
cient Pagan  power  of  "Su- 
preme Pontilf,"  while  the 
emperors  resided  in  Rome 
as  Pontifis.  But  on  their 
departure,  the  mantle  fell 
upon  the  only  legal  repre- 
sentative of  the  Roman  Pon- 
tifex  Maximus  there,  which 
was  the  bishop.  He  first 
coveted  the  power  and  final- 
ly assumed  the  name.  For 
"the  dragon,  after  being 
wounded,  gave  his  power  to 
the  beast."     Rev.  13 :  2. 


252 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


thus  reduced  the  whole 
country  to  a  desolate  desert. 
In  tliis  condition  it  was 
when  Rome  was  destroyed, 
and  thus  nearly  it  has  re- 
mained ever  since,  as  a  last- 
ing monument  of  the  divine 
wrath.  St.  John  being 
placed  in  this  desert  sees 
the  great  harlot,  or  the  wo- 
man, sitting  upon  a  scarlet- 
colored  beast,  fall  of  names 
of  blasphemy,  having  seven 
heads  and  ten  horns,  etc., 
and  being  struck  with 
amazement  at  so  extraordin- 
ary a  sight, — see  verse  7. 

"  This  great  city,  which  has 
dominion  over  the  kings  of 
the  earth,  can  be  no  other 
but  imperial  Rome,  which 
had  conquered  almost  all 
the  kingdoms  of  the  known 
world.  Imperial  heathen 
Rome  is  therefore  evidently 
meant  and  represented  by 
the  woman  or  great  harlot. 
And  thus  it  has  been  under- 
stood by  the  ancient  fathers 
and  by  the  modern  inter- 
preters of  the  Catholic 
Church.    But  furthermore — 

"Verse  15.  The  harlot 
was  said,  ver.  1,  to  sit  upon 
many  waters,  which  the  an- 
gel here  interprets  to  repre- 
sent the  many  kingdoms, 
states,  and  countries,  over 
which  she  ruled.  Again, 
the  angel  tells  him,  that  the 
seven  heads  are  seven 
mountains,  on  which  the 
woman  sitteth,  ver.  9,  which 
is  to  say  clearly,  the  seven 


THE    BISHOPS    OF   ROME. 

This  list  includes  Peter, 
who  was  not  bishop  of  Rome, 
and  closes  with  Marcus,  A. 
D.  336,  and  does  not  include 
Julius  or  the  succeeding 
Popes  which  belong  to  the 
Roman  history. 

A.  D.  34.  St.  Peter  was  a 
married  man  (Matt.  8:  14). 
His  wife  suffered  martyrdom 
at  Rome  while  he  was  pris- 
oner. The  Catholics  suppose 
that  Peter  was  appointed 
pope  (John  21 :  IS),  but  if  so, 
the  vague  commission  was 
plainly  canceled  in  the  22d 
verse.  It  is  not  probable 
that  lie  was  bishop  of  Rome. 

A.  D.  68.  St.  Linus.  Some 
Catholics  think  that  Linus 
was  the  third  Pope. 

A.  D.  78.  St.  Cletus. 

A.  D.  91.  St.  Clement. 
Some  Catholics  say  that  Al- 
exander was  the  fourth. 

A.  D.  10 L  St.  Anacletus. 
Alexander  is  by  some  placed 
filth  in  the  list. 

A.  D.  102.     St.  Avaristus. 

A.  D.  111.  St.  Alexander. 
Platina  says  that  he  was  the 
first  who  introduced  holy 
water.  He  was  a  martyr 
under  Trajan. 

A.  D.  li9.  St.  Sixtus  was 
a  martyr  under  Trajan. 

A.  D.  129.  St.  lelesphor- 
us. 

A.  D.  139.     St.  Hvginus. 

A.  I>.  143.  St.  Pius.  He 
has  the  name  of  sending  the 


KOMAN   CHURCH. 


CimiSTIAN    CHURCH.      253 


mountains  on  which  ancient 
Rome  was  built.  These  hills 
are,  the  Capitoline,  Palatiiie, 
Aventine,  Cfelius,  Esqueline, 
Quirinal,  and  Viminal,  some 
of  which  can  scarce  be 
deemed  a  part  of  modern 
Rome,  as  being  now  very 
little  inhabited. 

'^The  woman  being  now 
well  known,  we  are  next 
presented  with  a  description 
of  her  person  and  qualities. 
She  appears  dressed  in  pur- 
ple and  scarlet,  and  gilt 
with  gold  and  precious 
stones  and  pearls,  ver.  4 :  the 
imperial  lady  is  thus  decked 
out  in  the  most  sumptuous 
manner,  proudly  displaying 
the  great  abundance  of  her 
riches,  amassed  from  the 
spoils  of  the  whole  world. 
Purple  was  the  usual  robe 
of  the  emperors  of  Rome, 
and  her  scarlet  shows  her 
stained  with  the  blood  of 
the  martyrs.  She  holds  in 
her  hand  a  golden  cup  full 
of  the  abominations  and 
filthiness  of  her  fornication, 
ver.  4,  a  common  scriptural 
expression  for  the  abomina- 
tions of  idolatry;  and  with 
these  she  had  notoriously 
polluted  herself.  For  Rome, 
not  content  with  worshiping 
her  ow'n  heathenish  gods, 
adopted  those  of  all  the 
countries  and  nations  slie 
subdued.  She  thouglit  by 
this  extravagant  religious 
worship  to  render  all  the 
deities  propitious  to  her,  and 
to  this  she  ascribed  the  suc- 


gospel  to  Britain.  Reeves, 
p.  49. 

A.  D.  157.  St.  Anicetus, 
assuming  to  regulate  the 
Asiatic  Charch  in  regard  to 
the  time  of  celebrating  the 
Supper  now  called  Easter 
was  opposed  by  Poly  carp. 
Reeves,  p.  40. 

A.  D.  168.     St.  Soter. 

A.  D.  177.     St.  Elulherius. 

A.  D.  193.  St.  Victor  is 
called  the  "good  and  zeal- 
ous." He  endeavored  to 
force  uniformity  in  the  time 
of  holding  Easter,  but  w^as 
opposed  by  the  bishops  of 
Asia  Minor  and  others,  and 
especially  by  Irenaeus,  bish- 
op of  Lyons,  and  "prudently 
desisted."     Reeves,  p.  62. 

A.D.202.     St.Zephyrinus. 

A.  1).  219.  St.  Calixtus. 
Reeves,  p.  60. 

A.  D.  224.  St.  Urbanus 
was  famed  for  learning  and 
piety. 

A.  D.  231.     St.  Pontianus. 

A.  D.  235.     St.  Anterus. 

A.  D.  236.     St.  Eabinus. 

A.  D.  251.  St.  Cornelius 
w-as  opposed  by  Novatus. 

A.  1).  253.  St.  Lucius. 
During  his  time  Cyprian  of 
Carthage  created  an  excite- 
ment by  rebaptizing  re- 
formed heretics. 

A.  D  255.     St.  Stephanus. 

A.  D.  257.     St.  Sixtus  IL 

A.  D.  259.     St.  Dyonisius. 

A.  D.  269.     St.  Felix. 

A.  D.  275.  St.  Eutychi- 
anus. 

A.  D.  283.     St.  Cains. 

A.  D.296.     StMarcellinus. 


254 


CHUKCH   HISTORY. 


cess  of  her  arms.  'Thus  it 
is,'  said  the  Romans,  '  that 
this  city  has  extended  her 
empire  beyond  the  rising 
and  setting  sun,  and  beyond 
the  bounds  of  the  ocean, 
because  she  venerates  the 
gods  she  conquers,  she 
makes  foreign  deities  her 
own,  and  even  raises  altars 
to  those  that  are  unknown 
to  her.'  In  this  manner 
were  her  idohitrous  abomin- 
ations so  multiplied,  that 
there  are  said  to  have  been 
420  heathenish  temples  in 
that  city. 

"  Rome,  wliich  from  seven  mountains 
overlooks  tlie  wnole  world, 

Is  tlie  center  of  empire,  and  the  abode 
of  the  gods. 

She  even  carried  her  super- 
stition so  far,  lest  any  un- 
known god  should  not  re- 
ceive due  worship,  as  to 
build  a  temple,  uhich  she 
dedicated  to  all  the  deities, 
calling  it  on  that  account. 
Pantheon,  '  the  temple  of 
all  the  gods.'  '  This  city,' 
said  kSt.  Leo,  'not  knowing 
the  Author  of  her  elevation, 
while  she  ruled  over  almost 
all  the  nations  of  the  eartli, 
submitted  to  serve  all  their 
gods :  and  she  imagined  her- 
self to  be  the  more  relig- 
ious, as  she  rejected  no  kind 
of  idolatrous  worship.'  '  In- 
somuch, that  whatever  su- 
perstitions had  place  in  oth- 
er countries,  they  were  all 
carefully  transplanted  to 
Rome.'  In  fine,  such  was 
the  filthiness  of  her  fornica- 


T  h  e  Donatists,  who  com- 
posed the  majority  of  the 
African  Church,  rejected  him 
as  an  idolater.  Reeves,  p. 
84 

A.  D.  304.     St.  Marcellus. 

A.  D.  309.     St.  Eusebius. 

A.  U.311.     St.Melchiades. 

A.  D.  314.  St.  Sylvester. 
Great  changes  took  place 
in  his  time.  Constantine 
Chlorus,  Emperor  of  the 
West,  resided  in  England. 
His  son  Constantine  openly 
professed  the  faith,  A.  D.  313. 
He  reorganized  the  Church, 
and  in  325  dictated  its  first 
authoritative  creed,  having 
been  before  acknowledged 
as  supreme  head  of  the 
Church  or  "Pontifi:" 

A.  D.  336.  St.  Marcus 
closed  the  list  of  primitive 
bishops.  The  Roman  Reeves 
calls  him  '-Julius  the  Roman 
Pontiff."  Julius  had  suc- 
ceeded St.  Mark  *  *  in 
the  Holy  See. 

"Julius  agreed  with 
Athanasius  to  hear  and 
judge  between  the  tvro  par- 
ties." 

"The  empire  became  di- 
vided into  two  parts,  the 
Eastern  and  Western." 

"About  the  same  time 
died  the  celebrated  historian 
Eusebius  of  Caesarea."  p. 
103. 

The  future  bishops  are 
called  popes. 

Sylvester  was  bishop  of 
Rome     when     the     Nicene 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CIIUUCH.       255 


lion,  such  the  excess  of  her 
proslitutioti  to  idolatry,  tliat 
she  even  deilied  her  impious 
emperors,  raised  stntues  to 
tliem  to  which  incense  was 
offered,  and  built  temples  to 
their  memories." 

"Such  was  ancient  Rome, 
the  great  harlot,  with  whom 
the  kings  of  the  earth  com- 
mitted fornication;  and  they 
who  inhabited  the  earth, 
were  made  drunk  with  the 
wine  of  her  whoredom,  ver. 
2.  She  was  not  only  intox- 
icated herself  with  all  the 
delusions  of  idolatry,  but 
she  oflered  her  golden  cup 
all  round  to  others.  The 
unparalleled  degree  of  pow- 
er and  grandeur  to  which 
she  was  elevated,  raised  her 
to  such  a  hight  of  admira- 
tion in  the  eyes  of  all  na- 
tions, that  they  viewed  her 
with  the  utmost  deference 
and  respect,  and  readily  em- 
braced whatever  supersti- 
tion she  herself  followed  or 
recommended.  S  h  e  h  a  d 
moreover  the  disposal  of 
kingdoms,  governments, 
riches,  and  dignities:  what 
wonder  tiien,  if  with  such 
charms  she  debauched  the 
kings  and  people  of  the 
earth  ? 

"This  same  woman  is  far- 
ther said  to  carry  on  her 
forehead  the  following  in- 
scrij)tion:  a  mystery:  Bab- 
ylon the  great,  the  mother 
of  the  fornications,  and  the 
abominations  of  the  earth, 
ver.  5.     Here  is  a  mystery, 


Creed  was  made ;  but  he  was 
not  present.  Marcus  suc- 
ceeded him  in  336,  and 
closed  the  list  of  the  Roman 
bishops  of  the  lirst  period. 
He  is  the  thirty-fifth  bishop 
of  Rome.     The  next  was 

JULIUS,  "  THE  GOOD  POPE." 

So  Jortin  calls  him.  He  says : 
"The  encroaching  Julius, 
bishop  of  Rome,  claimed 
much  more  authority  than 
belonging  to  him." 

"Whilst  the  Arian  contro- 
versy was  warmly  carried 
on,  Atlianasius  and  his  par- 
tisans went  to  Rome,  and 
engaged  Julius  in  their  fa- 
vor by  putting  themselves 
under  his  protection.  There 
they  contributed,  though  it 
was  not  their  intention,  to 
augment  the  insolence  and 
the  usurpations  of  the  Ro- 
mish See,  for  the  good  pope 
neglected  not  his  own  inter- 
est." ''They  were  like  the 
poor  horse  in  the  fable,  who 
having  taken  the  man  on 
his  back  to  fight  the  stag, 
brought  a  cursed  slavery  on 
himself,  and  entailed  it  on 
his  iiosterity."     Jor.  ii.  268. 

For  fifteen  hundred  years 
the  people  of  that  church 
have  been  litlle  else  than 
"packliorse"  for  the  Pope 
and  his  priests,  peddling  the 
"mysteries  of  Babylon." 

"  A.  D.  350.     The  Emperor 


256 


CHURCH    HISTOPvY. 


or  an  enigma  to  be  unravel- 
ed, viz:  Babylon  the  great, 
the  mother  of  the  fornica- 
tions, and  the  abominations 
of  the  earth.  The  reader, 
we  apprehend,  is  already 
prepared  in  great  measure 
for  the  solving  of  this  enig- 
ma. Babylon  the  great  is 
the  great  imperial  city  of 
pagan  Rome.  And  she  is 
the  woman,  as  we  have  just 
above  shown,  who  is  the 
mother  of  the  fornications 
and  abominations  of  the 
earth.  This  is  the  explana- 
tions of  the  proposed  mys- 
tery. But  to  make  it  more 
clear,  that  by  Babylon  the 
great  is  here  meant  idola- 
trous Rome,  we  appeal  to 
the  angel's  words:  The  wo- 
man which  thou  sawest,  is 
the  great  city,  which  hath 
kingdoms  over  the  the  kings 
of  the  earth,  ver.  18;  which, 
as  Ave  have  iDofore  observed, 
plainly  points  out  the  great 
ancient  city  of  Rome,  that 
domineered  over  the  great- 
est part  of  the  kingdoms 
of  the  then  known  world. 
The  woman  therefore  is  the 
image  of  that  city,  and  in 
the  inscription  on  her  fore- 
head she  is  styled  Babylon 
the  great:  consequently 
Babylon  the  great  is  her3 
the  same  with  the  city  of 
Rome.  In  the  primiiive 
ages  this  figurative  name  of 
Babylon  was  frequently 
given  to  heathen  Rome  by 
the  Christians,  on  account 
of   the   resemblance   of  the 


Const  a  US  was  slain  by  the 
tyrant  Magnentius.  Athan- 
asius  and  Baronius  make 
him  a  saint  and  a  martyr,  ti- 
tles to  which  he  has  small 
pretensions.  But  he  had  been 
an  High-Clnirchman^  and 
that  was  enough.  Con8tans^ 
says  Athanasius,  a  most  Iwly 
jprince^  was  murdered  liy  the 
execrable  Magnentius^  and 
received  the  crown  of  mar- 
tyrdom ;  but  if  we  may  say 
the  plain  truth,  his  morals 
were  most  unworthy  of  a 
Christian  and  a  martyr. 
When  a  prince  showed  an 
aflection  for  the  bishops, 
and  for  the  peace  of  the 
church,  as  a  kind  of  atone- 
ment for  his  vices,  the  an- 
cients complimented  him 
with  the  title  of  Most  Relig- 
ious^ and  bestowed  it  even 
upon  Gallienus.  Though 
willing  to  commend  what- 
soever was  commendable  in 
Constans,  yet  we  can  not 
approve  his  dissolute  life. 
Zonaras  gives  him  an  ex- 
ceeding  bad  character." 
Jor.  ii.  273. 

A.  D.  356.  The  Council 
of  Milan  drew  up  a  creed 
omitting  the  Ilomoousion 
doctrine.  The  confession 
drawn  up  by  those  called 
Arians  at  the  Council,  at 
Sirmium,  in  357, added  this: 

'■'•^Y]Lereas^  so  many  distur 
bances  have  arisen  from  the 
distinction  of  the  unity  of 
the  divine    essence,  or  the 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.       257 


characters  of  those  two  cit- 
ies, for  their  idoLitry,  and 
for  their  oppressing,  the  one 
the  Jews,  the  other  the 
Christians.  St.  Peter  dates 
his  first  letter  from  Babylon, 
1  Pet.  5:  13,  that  is,  from 
Rome,  as  St.  Jerome  and 
Eusebius  tell  ns.  'The  ap- 
pellation of  Babylon,'  said 
TertuUian,  'is  used  by  St. 
John  for  the  city  of  Rome, 
because  she  resembles  an- 
cient Babylon,  in  the  extent 
of  her  walls,  in  her  haugh- 
tiness on  account  of  her 
dominion,  and  in  persecut- 
ing the  saints.'  '  Rome  is 
a  second  Babylon,'  says  St. 
Austin,  '  and  a  daughter  of 
the  ancient  Babylon.'  Bab- 
ylon the  great  is  therefore 
sufficiently  distinguished: 
but  her  character  is  com- 
pleted, and  she  appears  in 
plain  colors,  in  what  follows  : 
'And  I  saw,'  says  St.  John, 
'  the  woman  drunk  with  the 
blood  of  the  saints,  and  with 
tlie  blood  of  the  martyrs  of 
Jesus,'  ver.  6.  This  inhu- 
man woman,  this  impious 
Jezebel,  this  cruel  persecu- 
trix,  has  drenched  herself 
with  so  much  Christian  blood, 
which  she  has  spilr,  that  she 
appears  to  be  drunk  with  it. 
Who  is  this  but  idolatrous 
persecuting  Rome?  Innu- 
merable were  tlie  martyrs 
she  put  to  death,  through- 
out the  vast  extent  of  her 
dominions,  and  even  in  her 
own  bosom,  the  city  itself. 
Innumerable  likewise  were 
17 


likeness  of  essence,  so  from 
henceforth  nothing  shall  be 
taught  or  preached  respect- 
ing the  essence  of  the  Sou 
of  God,  because  nothing  is 
to  be  found  on  that  subject 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
because  it  is  one  which  sur- 
passes the  measure  of  hu- 
man faculties."  "The  ven- 
erable Hosius,  now  past 
his  hundredth  year,  and  in 
exile,  was  brought  to  sub- 
scribe this  confession ;  also 
Pope  Liberius."     Nean.  ii.  7. 

Reeves^  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic historian,  says:  "The 
church  (Roman)  had  now 
to  deplore  the  fall  of  two  of 
her  first  chajupions,  Osius 
and  Liberius."  "  Osius  *  * 
signed  the  Arian  formulary" 
under  violence,  and  con- 
demned Athanasius,  but  ia 
said  to  have  repented.  Pope- 
Liberius  passed  two  year?  m 
banishment.  The  solicita- 
tions of  Damophilus  and 
Fortunation  induced  him  ta- 
believe  that  he  might  sign 
the  formulary  of  Sirmium, 
and  the  condemnation  of 
Athanasius  without  violat- 
ing the  Catholic  fiiith.  He' 
fell  through  weakness,  and 
by  an  error  of  judgment." 
Reeves  110. 

"Infallibility "fell!  What 
less   could  the    fallible  do? 


258 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


the  other  saints  or  holy  con- 
fessors, who,  though  not  slain, 
were  by  her  condemned  to 
lose  some  of  their  limbs,  and 
had  an  eye  bored  out,  their 
tongues  plucked  away,  or 
the  sinews  of  a  leg  or  a 
thigh  cut,  etc.,  or  in  fine, 
were  put  to  tortures  that 
tore  away  their  ^ flesh  and 
drained  their  blood.  We 
have  seen  the  account  of 
ten  dreadful  persecutions, 
which  swept  away  an  infi- 
nite multitude  of  Christians; 
and  all  of  these  persecu- 
tions were  the  work  of  the 
Roman  emperors,  and  their 
subslitntes  in  the  provinces. 
It  is  then  apparent  v.'ho  the 
woman  is,  that  was  seen 
(drunk  with  the  blood  of  the 
:saint=?,  and  with  the  blood 
'Of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus. 

"After  the  description  of 
the  ^woman,  we  are  then  fa- 
vored with  an  account  of 
the  beast  that  carries  her, 
ver.  7.  The  Avoman  being 
the  image  of  the  city  of 
Rome,  the  beast  on  v^^hich 
she  sits,  naturally  represents 
the  Roman  empire.  And  as 
the  woman  was  styled  the 
mother  of  fornication  or 
idolatry;  consequently 
Rome  was  the  seat  and  cen- 
ter of  idolatry;  and  in  like 
manner  by  the  beast  the 
Roman  empire  is  represent- 
ed as  the  empire  of  idolatry. 
The  color  of  the  beast  is 
scarlet,  ver,  3,  an  emblem  of 
its  sanguinary  disposition: 
and   is   said   to   be   full   of 


Is  it  not  probable  that  those 
called  Arians  signed  through 
weakness,  too  ?  If  the  Pope 
is  excused,  why  is  less  mer- 
cy shown  to  the  common 
people? 

miner  ^T\j?>'.  "In  the  same 
year,  357,  Liberius  of  Rome, 
after  two  years*  exile,  was  not 
only  prevailed  on  to  receive 
an  Arian  Creed,  but  even  to 
reject  Athanasius.  The  sub- 
scription to  the  creed  was 
not  so  much  an  evidence  of 
insincerity,  as  was  the  con- 
demnation of  the  A.]exan- 
drian  prelate,  because  the 
Arians,  fertile  in  expedients, 
made  creeds  upon  creeds, 
expressed  in  artful  ambigu- 
ities, to  impose  on  the  un- 
wary. Liberius  by  these  un- 
worthy means  recovered  his 
bishopric.  The  See  of  Rome 
at  that  time  had  secular 
charms  sufficient  to  seduce 
a  worldly  mind.  Whether 
Liberius  cordially  repented 
of  his  hypocrisy  or  not,  we 
have  no  evidence.  The  cru- 
elty of  the  Arians. tried  to 
the  utmost  the  hearts  of  men 
in  those  days,  and  now  the 
proverb  was  verified:  'AH 
the  world  against  Athana- 
sius, and  Athanasius  against 
all  the  world.'  "     i.  294 

Arian.  This  name  con- 
stantly occurs  in  history,  a 
name  invidiously  thrust 
upon  all  the  early  Chris- 
tians who  rejected  the  false 


ROMAN  CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.       259 


names  of  blasphemy,  or 
marked  over  with  the  names 
of  tlie  heathenish  Roman 
gods,  the  greatest  indignity 
that  can  be  offered  to  the 
majesty  of  the  Supreme 
Being.  Then  the  angel,  who 
promised  to  St.  John  to  dis- 
cover to  him,  ver.  7,  the  mys- 
tery both  of  the  woman  and 
the  beast,  tells  him: 

"Ver.  &.  The  beast,  which 
thou  sawest,  was,  and  is  not, 
and  shall  come  up  out  of  the 
bottomless  pit,  and  go  into 
desti-uction :  and  the  inhab- 
itants on  the  earth  (whose 
names  are  not  written  in  the 
book  of  life  from  the  foun- 
dations of  the  world)  shall 
wonder,  seeing  the  beast, 
that  was,  and  is  not, 

"  Behold  a  very  mysterious 
explication  of  a  mystery. 
But  to  unfold  it:  here  is  ex- 
pressed the  state  of  the 
beast,  as  it  passes  through 
different  periods  of  time. 
The  beast  or  the  Roman 
idolatrous  empire  was,  that 
is,  existed  for  a  term  of 
time:  then  is  not,  or  exists 
no  more  as  the  emjDire  of 
idolatry,  but  is  changed  into 
a  Christian  empire,  which 
happened  when  Constantine 
the  Great  became  emperor, 
suppressed  the  power  of 
idolatry,  expelled  Satan,  and 
established  Cliristianity. 
But  it  is  added,  '  and  the 
beast  shall  come  up  out  of 
the  bottomless  pit,  and  go 
into  destruction.'  The  Ro- 
man idolatrous  empire  will 


creeds  of  Rome.  The  opin- 
ion that  the  Nicene  Church 
M^as  orthodox,  while  rejected 
by  nine-tenths  of  the  Chris- 
tian world;  and  that  be- 
cause Rome  condemned 
them,  therefore  we  will  suf- 
fer if  we  defend  Dionysius, 
and  Eusebius,  and  Philostor- 
gius,  and  Damophilus;  the 
Novatians  with  their  purity, 
the  Donatists  with  their  zeal, 
or  the  Arians  with  their 
multitudes,  is  the  fear  of  a 
booby  or  the  opinion  of  a 
bigot,  who  trusts  falsehood 
for  favor,  and  barters  truth 
off  for  error.  The  reader 
should  ever  remember  as  he 
reads  the  word  Arian  the 
warning  in  Mosheim: 

"Nothing  is  more  com- 
mon than  the  abusive  appli- 
cation of  this  term  to  per- 
sons who  have  entertained 
opinions  the  very  opposite 
of  those  of  Arius."  i.  109. 
Note. 

THE   NATIONS. 

The  dominant  nations  of 
Europe  belong  to  the  Gaul 
and  Gothic,  or  Celt  and  Ger- 
man families.  The  Germans 
were  a  humane  race  of  free- 
men. A  family  of  broth- 
ers, called  in  ancient  his- 
tory Goths,  Visigoths,  Os- 
trogoths, Alani,  Suevi,  Cim- 


260 


CHUKCH    HISTORY. 


rise  up  again  under  Anti- 
christ from  the  bottomless 
pit  or  hell,  because  Satan 
will  be  loosed  before  the 
end  of  the  world,  and  will 
revive  idolatry  chiefly  by 
means  of  that  wicked  man, 
Antichrist,  who  will  become 
master  of  the  ancient  Ro- 
man dominions.  And  the 
inhabitants  on  the  earth 
shall  wonder,  seeing  the 
beast,  that  was,  and  is  not, 
and  yet  is;  all  the  world 
will  be  struck  with  amaze- 
ment, at  seeing  the  idola- 
trous Roman  empire  reap- 
pear, which  had  been  so 
long  ago  destroyed.  But 
the  reign  of  Antichrist  will 
soon  go  into  destruction,  as 
it  will  last  no  more  than 
three  years  and  a  half." 

(Here  the  learned  Catho- 
lic finding  history  too  strong 
for  him,  is  forced  to  refer 
the  fulfillment  to  papal 
Rome.  He  says  on  verses 
12,13): 

"The  ten  horns  denote 
the  ten  kings  or  ten  powers, 
namely,  the  Goths,  Huns, 
Alans,  Vandals,  Saxons, 
Burgundians,  Franks,  Heru- 
11,  Suevi,  and  Quadi,  the 
chief  of  the  barbarous  na- 
tions that  invaded  the  west- 
ern Roman  empire  in  the 
fifth  century.  All  those  dif- 
ferent people,  signified  by 
the  ten  horns,  were'  either 
pagans  or  heretics." 

(Mark  the  order,  ver.  13. 


bri,  Bavarians,  Normans, 
Yandals,  Quadi,  Franks  Om- 
bri,  Lombards,  Gepidse,  Her- 
uli,  Alemani.  Most  of  these 
were  Christians,  less  culti- 
vated but  more  humane  than 
the  Romans.  The  countries 
opposed  to  the  new  faith 
were  France,  Spain,  Africa, 
England,  Germany,  and 
much  of  Syria,  Greece,  and 
Italy.  Yet  all  these  had  al- 
ready adopted  the  Christian 
religion  in  its  primitive  form. 
The  Franks  comprised  an 
unconverted  German  tribe. 
The  Vandals  a  tribe  of  North 
Germany  on  the  banks  of 
the  Vistula.  The  principal 
races  which  populated  West- 
ern Europe  were  the  Goths, 
or  Germans;  the  Gauls,  or 
Celts.  The  name  German 
was  given  by  the  Romans  to 
all  the  country  bounded  by 
the  Rhine  on  the  west,  the 
Northern  Ocean  and  the 
Vistula  on  the  north,  the 
extreme  valley  of  the  Dan- 
ube on  the  east  and  the 
south,  and  included  in  their 
borders  even  Sweden,  Fin- 
land, Livonia,  as  well  as 
Prussia,  full  one-third  of 
Europe.  The  name  German 
signifies  "brothers."  Their 
national   god    Teuton   gave 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      261 


These  Arian  kings  give  their 
power  to  the  beast.  That 
is,  they  are  first  converted 
to  popery,  then,  after  that, 
ver.  14,  they  make  war  on 
the  Lamb.  For  verse  17, 
"God  hath  put  it  in  their 
hearts  to  fulfill  his  will,  and 
to  agree,  and  give  their 
kingdom  unto  the  beast, 
until  the  words  of  God  shall 
be  fulfilled."  Then  they  will 
hate  the  whore,  the  woman, 
verse  1,  which  is  the  harlot, 
which  is  the  city,  verse 
18,  which  ruleth  over  the 
kings  of  the  earth.  The 
learned  Catholic  proceeds: 
N.  S.) 

"The  Arian  Visigoths  in 
Spain  were  brought  over  to 
the  Catholic  faith  about  the 
year  600,  in  the  reign  of 
their  king  Recared.  About 
the  same  time  the  Saxons 
in  Britain  received  the 
Christian  doctrine  from  St. 
Austin  and  his  companions. 
St.  Willi brod  carried  the 
faith  into  Friesland  ;  and  St. 
Rupert  and  St.  Boniface  with 
his  associates  converted 
many  nations  of  Germany 
in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
centuries. 

"Verse  16.  .  Here  we  see 
the  general  disposition  of 
the  above-mentioned  north- 
ern nations,  denoted  by  the 
ten   horns.     They  will  hate 


them  the  name  Teutones, 
and  our  third  day  of  the 
week,  Tuesday. 

These  people  have  been 
abused  by  the  Roman  pen 
of  ill-will.  They  were  the 
free  men  of  their  age  ;  they 
were  all  democratic.  They 
had  kings,  but  their  kings 
were  the  leaders  of  freemen. 
No  king  dared  to  punish  a 
free  man  with  death,  im- 
prisonment or  blows.  They 
attached  a  sacred  character 
to  the  female.  Valor  was 
the  grace  of  man;  chastity 
the  virtue  of  woman.  Di- 
vorce was  almost  unknown, 
and  polygan:y  only  among 
the  princes  prior  to  Christi- 
anity; adultery  was  a  crime 
inexpiable ;  seduction  unpar- 
donable. They  were  the 
governing  people  of  the  Ro- 
man empire  for  many  years, 
and  gave  it  some  of  its  wisest 
laws  and  best  monarchs. 

Besides  the  modern  Ger- 
mans ;  the  English,  Saxon- 
Scots,  Northern  Irish,  Amer- 
icans, and  many  other  na- 
tions, are  the  children  of 
the  ancient  Germans  called 
Goths,  etc.  Another  domi- 
nant race,  which  flowed  in  a 
westerly  direction  from  Asia, 
keeping  south  of  the  Ger- 


262 


CHURCH   HISTORF. 


the  harlot,  Rome,  the  great 
capital  of  the  empire,  be 
cause  she  has  shown  herself 
a  universal  domineering  ty- 
rant, and  has  in  particular 
ill  requited  them  for  the  im- 
portant help  they  had  lent 
her  against  her  enemies. 
Thus  stimulated  with  rancor 
and  resentment,  they  will 
make  her  desolate,  that  is, 
they  will  invest  her  walls, 
they  will  preclude  all  succors 
both  of  men  and  provisions 
from  her,  and  reduce  her  to 
the  utmost  state  of  distress. 
"Under  the  divine  direc- 
tion, therefore,  those  barba- 
rians acted  in  the  demolition 
of  Rome,  and  its  empire; 
and  thus  they  executed  what 
pleased  him,  or  what  he  had 
designed."     pp.  99-107. 

But  as  this  takes  place  not 
in  the  time  of  pagan  but  of 
papal  Rome,  papal  Rome  is, 
as  the  learned  author  has 
proved,  without  admitting  it, 
the  great  harlot  described 
in  Rev.  1 7  : 1-5.  The  pope  is 
the  beast  to  whom  the  drag- 
on gave  his  power,  and  the 
Christians  are  the  saints 
persecuted. 

The  learned  Dr.  Horsley 
says:  "The  vision  of  the 
war  in  heaven  in  the  Apoc- 
alypse represents  the  vehe- 
ment struggle  between 
Christianity  and  the  old 
idolatry  in  the  first  ages  of 
the  gospel.  The  angels  of 
the    two    opposing    armies 


mans,  and  filling  southwest- 
ern Europe,  especially  Italy, 
Spain  and  France,  was  the 
Gauls,  or  Celts.  The  Gauls 
are  the  chief  family  of  the 
Celts.  These  kept  along  the 
south  side  of  the  Danube. 
They  occupied  Italy  under 
the  names  of  Rasena,  Unibri, 
Ansones,  Rhoeteii,  Tusci, 
Etrusci  (called  also  Etrus- 
cans), a  great  part  flowing 
on  and  settling  in  all  the 
country  from  the  Pyrenees 
to  the  Rhine ;  and  from  the 
Alps  to  the  Adriatic  in  the 
country  called  Gaul.  The 
inhabitants  of  southwestern 
Europe,  the  Italians,  Span- 
iards, French,  Scotch  Iligh- 
landers,  Sputhern  Irish, 
and,  to  som^  extent,  the 
Britains  also  were  Celts. 
Their  only  free  men  were 
the  warriors ;  their  priests 
were  Druids;  their  sacrifices 
human  beings ;  their  religion 
priestcraft;  their  arms  were 
of  copper;  their  only  dress  a 
cape  over  the  shoulders. 
Duels  and  drunkenness  were 
common.  The  Roman  form 
of  religion  was  molded  in 
the  Celtic  heart,  and  imbued 
with  its  spirit.  The  Celtic 
tribes  adopted  it  as  a  compro- 
mise wdth  their  Druidical 
religion,  while  the  Germans 


ROMAN  CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.      263 


represent  the  two  opposing 
parties  in  the  Roman  state, 
at  the  time  which  the  vision 
more'  particularly  regards. 
Michael's  angels  are  the 
party  which  espoused  the 
side  of  the  Christian  relig- 
ion, the  friends  of  which  had, 
for  many  years,  been  nu- 
merous, and  became  very 
powerful  under  Constantine 
the  Great,  the  first  Chris- 
tian emperor ;  the  dragon's 
angels  are  the  party  which 
endeavored  to  support  the 
old  idolatry."  Horsley's 
Sermons,  p.  373. 

Gibbon  says  that  the 
Christians  of  Constan tine's 
time  "  confidently  expected 
miraculous  aid,"  and  Naza- 
rius,  a  writer  of  the  times, 
nine  years  after  the  victory 
of  Constantine,  describes 
"an  army  of  divine  warri- 
ors who  seemed  to  fall  from 
the  sky.  He  marks  their 
beaut}^,  their  spirit,  their 
gigantic  forms,  and  the 
stream  of  light  which 
beamed  from  their  celestial 
armor."  Constantine  him- 
Belf  says:  "Now,  when  lib- 
erty is  restored  and'  that 
dragon,  by  the  providence 
of  God,  and  our  ministry, 
cast  out  from  the  adminis- 
tration of  public  affairs,  the 
divine  potency  has  more 
manifestly  appeared." 
Constantine    was     repre- 


submitted  to  it  reluctantly. 
In  the  Catholic  Church  the 
Celtic  spirit  was  manifest 
from  the  very  beginning  in 
her  hero  worship ;  the  en- 
slavement of  the  mind ;  the 
want  of  human  sympathy 
for  a  foe ;  and  a  cruel  san- 
guinary spirit.  The  Cimbri, 
Cimmeriaps,  or  Cimri,  were 
in  the  beginning  of  a  purely 
German  stock;  but  in  their 
travel  westward  they  be- 
came so  mixed  with  their 
Celtic  cousins  of  southwest- 
ern Europe,  that  the  idiom 
of  the  ancient  Britons  and 
the  Welsh  is  Celtic,  though 
the  spirit  of  the  people  is 
unmistakably  German,  The 
Irish  are  clearly  Celtic  in 
language  and  spirit,  except 
in  the  north  where  the  Saxon 
element  is  unmistakable;  the 
people  there  being  related 
to  the  Scotch.  The  ancient 
Picts  of  Scotland  were  Ger- 
man; the  Highlander  be- 
longs to  the  Celtic  race. 
The  names  of  the  two  dom- 
inant families  of  Europe  are 
significant  Celt  signifies  a 
covert.  German  means 
brother.  The  former  pleads 
for  the  hero,  the  Napoleon, 
the  Pope.  The  latter  for 
"  the  fatherland."  We  re- 
gard the   conversions   with 


264 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


sented  on  a  tablet  with  a 
cross  over  his  head,  and  un- 
der his  feet  the  great  enemy 
of  mankind  in  the  form  of  a 
dragon  "Transfixed  with  a 
dart."  The  dragon  signified 
any  form  of  a  serpent,  and 
was  the  common  emblem 
of  pagan  governments.  In 
the  text  it  is  the  emblem  of 
the  Roman  power,  as  the 
eagle  is  of  the  American; 
and  Satan  in  the  b  a  c  k- 
ground*  signifies  that  the 
pagan  government  was  un- 
der the  dominion  of  him 
who  said  to  Jesus,  when  he 
took  him  up  into  an  exceed- 
ing high  mountain,  and  show- 
eth  him  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world,  and  the  glory  of 
them;  all  these  things  will 
I  give  thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall 
down  and  worship  me.  (Matt 
4:  8,  9.)  That  government 
was  the  dragon,  under,  the 
influence  as  it  reads  of  "That 
old  serpent  called  the  Dev- 
il and  Satan,  which  deceive 
eth  the  whole  world.''  For 
serpent  is  the  first  and  the 
last  jiame  given  to  Satan  in 
the  Word  of  God. 

In  the  beautiful  represen- 
tation of  the  true  church 
(Revlation,  12:  1.)  "There 
appeared  a  great  wonder  in 
heaven ;  a  woman  clothed 
with  the  sun,  and  the  moon 


greater  interest  on  account 
of  the  great  influence  which 
they  have  ever  exerted  in 
favor  of  learning.  Scripture 
knowledge  and  religious 
freedom. 

A.  D.  262.  JoHin  says: 
"•About  this  time  the  Goths, 
and  other  savage  nations 
which  dwelt  by  the  Danube, 
took  some  Christian  presby- 
ters captives,  and  were  ta- 
ken captives  by  them;  for 
tJiese  Christians,  by  the  love- 
ly force  of  a  blameless  be- 
havior and  a  holy  life,  and 
by  the  miracles  which  they 
wrought,  converted  many 
barbarians,  and  at  the  same 
time  softened  and  civilized 
their  manners.  So  says  Soz- 
omen,  ii.  6.  Eusebius  men- 
tions it  not;  butil  is  observ- 
able that  Eusebius  is  often 
short  and  deficient  in  his  ac- 
count of  the  transactions  in 
the  western  parts.''''  Jor.  i. 
422. 

Neander  traces  these  faith- 
ful missionaries  farther  in 
their  labors.     He  says  : 

"The  Arian  historian  Fhi- 
lostorgius  relates  concern- 
ing the  missionary  Theophi- 
lus,  wiio  bore  the  cognomen 
of  Indicus  ('o  'Ivdog).  This 
Theophilus  had  been  sent 
by  his  countrymen,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  island  Diu, 
in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor 
Constantino,  as  a  hostage  to 
Constantinople.  He  was 
there  educated,  and  trained 


EOMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.       265 


under  her  feet,  and  upon  her 
head  a  crown  of  twelve 
stars :  there  appeared  anotli- 
er  wonder  in  heaven ;  a 
great  red  dragon,  having 
seven  lieads  and  ten  horns, 
and  seven  crowns  upon  his 
heads.  And  his  tail  drew 
the  third  part  of  the  stars 
of  heaven,  and  did  cast  them 
to  the  earth :  and  the  drag- 
on stood  before  the  woman 
which  was  ready  to  be  de- 
livered, for  to  devour  her 
child  as  soon  as  it  was  born." 
We  have  a  representation 
of  the  dragon's  power  against 
Christianity  in  jpagan  Rome, 
from  Christ  to  Constantine, 
"There  was  war  in  heaven: 
Michael  and  his  angels 
fought  against  the  dragon ; 
and  the  dragon  fought  and 
his  angels,  and  prevailed 
not;  neither  was  their  lolace 
found  any  more  in  heaven_ 
And  the  great  dragon  was 
cast  out,  that  old  serpent, 
called  the  L)evil,  and  Satan, 
which  deceiveth  the  whole 
world :  he  was  cast  out  into 
the  earth,  and  his  angels 
were  cast  out  witli  him." 
(Rev.  12:  T-9.)  This  gives 
the  triumph  of  Christianity 
over  Paganism,  as  represent- 
ed in  history,  when  Constan- 


for  the  spiritual  office,  after- 
ward consecrated  as  deacon, 
and  still  later  made  a  bishop 
that  he  might  be  prepared 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  his 
countrymen,  and  to  the  Ara- 
bians. According  to  the 
representation  of  Fhilostor- 
gius,  in  the  extracts  made  by 
Photius,  we  should  conceive, 
it  is  true,  no  other  country 
to  be  meant  here  than  Ara- 
bia. But  the  name  Diu  re- 
minds us  rather  of  East  In- 
dia proper,  and,  in  particu- 
lar, of  the  place  by  this  name 
near  the  entrance  of  the 
Persian  Gulf;  the  situation 
of  which  harmonizes,  more- 
over, with  Theophilus'  jour- 
ney from  Arabia.  Iheophi- 
lus,  it  is  said,  went  Irom 
Arabia  to  Diu,  his  native 
land;  and  from  thence  vis- 
ited the  other  countries  of 
India.  Here  he  found  still 
existing  the  Christianity 
which  had  been  already 
planted  in  that  region  at  an 
earlier  period.  Perfectly 
certain  and  distinct  accounts 
of  the  diffusion  of  Christi- 
anity in  India  we  meet  with 
first  in  Cosmas,  who,  on  ac- 
count of  his  travels  in  India, 
received  the  name  Jndico- 
2)lenstes.  He  found  Chris- 
tians in  three  different  places 
in  India,  first  on  the  island 
Tcqirohane^  called  by  the  in- 
habitants oieledibn  (the 
present  Ceylon).  Here  he 
found  a  church,  which  had 
been    planted     by    Persian 


266 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


tine  transfixes  the  dragon 
with  a  dart. 

Michael,  the  Archangel, 
represents  the  Savior,  as  the 
Savior  represents  God;  and 
is  here  the  angel  of  God's 
presence,  the  ministering 
spirit,  guiding  the  soldiers 
to  victory. 

The  angels  were  the  serv- 
ants of  God,  and  the  serv- 
ants of  sin,  or  rather  the 
armies  contending  on  either 
side.  "Michael  and  his  an- 
gels fought  against  the  drag- 
on, and  the  dragon  fought 
and  his  angels,  and  prevailed 
not;  neither  was  their  place 
found  any  more  in  heaven." 

Heaven  was  where  the 
whole  scene  appeared.  John 
saw  it  all  in  heaven ;  not  in 
the  mansions  of  glory,  but 
in  the  sky.  It  was  a  pano- 
rama of  scenes  in  the  face 
of  the  heavens.  Where 
the  dragon  appeared — not  a 
bright  angel — not  Lucifer, 
son  of  the  morning,  but  "  a 
great  red  dragon,  having 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns, 
and  seven  crowns  upon  his 
heads."  This  was  no  inhabi- 
tant of  glory ;  but  '■'  the  prince 
of  the  power  of  the  air,"  the 
God  of  this  world  enthroned 
in  the  political  heavens. 
The  weapons  with  which  the 


merchants  residing  on  the 
spot,  and  which  was  presided 
over  by  a  presbyter  who  had 
been  ordained  in  Persia. 
This  island  carried  on  a  brisk 
commerce  with  Persia  and 
Ethiopia.  Maritime  com- 
merce was  the  channel  by 
w  h  i  c  h  Christianity  h  a  d 
reached  this  spot  from  Per* 
sia.  Again,  he  met  with 
Christians,  and  an  ordained 
clergy,  at  Hale,  '  where  tlie 
pepper  grows'  (perhaps  the 
present  Malabar),  next  at 
Calliana  (perhaps  Calcutta), 
where  there  was  a  Persian 
bishop.  From  the  accounts 
of  Cosmas,  it  is  by  no  means 
to  be  gathered  that  Christi- 
anity had  spread  among  the 
native  population  of  these 
countries:  it  is  only  clear 
that  commercial  colonies  of 
the  Persians  here  practiced 
the  rites  of  Christian  wor- 
ship. Tliese  Persian  Chris- 
tians are  the  progenitors  of 
the  Cliristian  colonies  still 
existing  on  the  coast  of  Mal- 
abar. 

'•  When  the  Arian  Philos- 
torgius  says  tiie  inhabitants 
of  this  country  needed  no 
correction  of  their  doctrine, 
i.  e.,  their  doctrine  did  not 
at  all  coincide  with  the 
Nicene  Creed;  they  had  pre- 
served the  kreaoovaLov  unal- 
tered from  the  beginning, 
this  can  only  be  understood 
to  mean  that  they  ha"d  the 
older,  more  simple  form  of 
church  doctrine,  the  subor- 
dination   system,    before   it 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.       267 


monster  was  overcome,  were 
not  carnal  but  spiritual. 
"They  overcame  him  by 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and 
by  the  word  of  their  testi- 
mony ;  and  they  loved  not 
their  lives  unto  the  death." 
They  were  mortals;  Chris- 
tians who  "wrestle  not 
against  flesh  and  blood,  but 
against  principalities, 
against  powers,  against  the 
rulers  of  the  darkness  of 
this  world,  against  spiritual 
wickedness  in  high  places." 
The  dragon  was  overcome 
but  not  annihilated.  John 
(13:  1)  saw  another  beast 
arise.  It  came  up  out  of  the 
sea.  Waters  are  the  symbol 
of  multitudes.  Here  they 
signil'y  the  inundating  mul- 
titudes of  the  western  part 
of  the  Roman  empire.  This 
beast  did  not  come  from  a 
mountain,  or  throne,  or  rock, 
but  from  the  sea,  and  the 
dragon  gave  the  beast  his 
power.  It  was  a  beast  of 
religion.  John  says  :  "And 
they  worshiped  the  dragon 
which  gave  power  unto  the 
beast;  and  they  worshiped 
the  beast,  saying,  Who  is 
like  unto  the  beast?  who  is 
able  to  make  war  with  him? 
And  there  was  given  unto 
him  a  mouth  speaking  great 


had  undergone  any  further 
change  by  the  dialectic  pro- 
cess, that  form  which  would 
have  satisfied  the  Arians. 
(SeePhilostorg.  iii.  14.)  We 
observed,  it  is  true,  that,  per- 
haps already  in  the  previous 
l^eriod,  isolated  attempts  had 
been  made  to  disseminate 
Christianity  even  in  those 
parts  of  Arabia  which  were 
not  subject  to  the  Roman 
dominion;  but  concerning 
the  success  and  issue  of 
those  attempts  we  have  no 
accurate  information.  The 
nomadic  life  w^hich  prevailed 
over  the  largest  portion  of 
Arabia  ever  presented  a 
powerful  hindrance  to  the 
spread  of  Christianity.  For 
it  is  certain  that  Christianity 
could  strike  its  root  deeply 
and  firmly,  only  where  it  en- 
tered as  a  forming  power 
into  the  whole  life  of  the 
people.  The  extensive  com- 
mercial intercourse  between 
a  part  of  Arabia  and  the  Ro- 
man empire  induced  the 
Emperor  Constantino  to  send 
an  embassy,  with  numerous 
presents,  to  one  of  the  pow- 
erful Arabian  chiefs,  the 
king  of  the  ancient  and 
mighty  nation  of  the  Hatn- 
yares  (Tlomerites),  or  Sa- 
boeans,  in  Yemen,  Arabia 
Felix.  He  was  at  pains  to 
select  for  this  mission  the 
above-mentioned  Theophi- 
lusofDiu."     116. 

The  labors  of  Theophilus 
were  attended  with  the  hap- 
piest effects.     He  converted 


268 


CUURCU   mSTORY. 


tilings  and  blasphemies  ;  and 
power  was  given  unto  him 
to  continue  forty  and  two 
months.  And  he  opened  his 
mouth  in  blasphemy  against 
God,  to  blaspheme  his  name, 
and  his  tabernacle,  and  them 
that  dwell  in  heaven.  And 
it  was  given  unto  him  to 
make  war  with  the  saints 
and  to  overcome  them ;  and 
power  was  given  him  over 
all  kindreds,  and  tongues, 
and  nations.  And  all  that 
dwell  upon  the  earth  shall 
worship  him,  whose  names 
are  not  written  in  the  book 
of  life  of  the  Lamb  slain 
from  the  foundation  of  the 
world." 

W  h  e  n  Constantino  re- 
moved the  seat  of  govern- 
ment to  Constantinople,  he 
left  the  bishop  of  Rome  to 
inherit  the  power  of  the  old 
capital.  Pepin,  of  France, 
and  Matilda,  of  Tuscany, 
added  temporal  dominions 
to  his  throne;  and  this 
"beast"  carried  forward  (as 
history  records)  the  new 
Catholic  Church  in  imperial 
glory. 

Bryant  snys:  "Scarcely  a 
Pagan  nation  has  existed 
among  whom  serpent  wor- 
ship has  not  been  estab- 
lished."    Anc.  Myth.  i.  473. 


the  prince  of  the  country, 
who  founded,  at  his  own  cost, 
three  churches ;  one  in  the 
principal  town  of  the  nation 
which  was  called  Zaphar. 

Meander  says:  ''The  Goths 
belonging  to  the  stock  of 
Germanic  descent,  we  find 
among  the  names  to  the  de- 
cision~of  the  Council  of  Nice 
a  certain  Theophilus,  who  is 
called  bishop  of  the  Goths. 
From  one  of  these  families 
of  Roman  origin,  Ulphilas, 
who  is  entitled  to  the  credit 
of  having  done  most  for  the 
spread  of  Christianity  and 
Christian  culture,  is  said  to 
have  sprung.  Ulphilas  did 
the  Goths  important  service 
in  their  negotiations  with 
the  Romans,  and  thus  won 
their  love  and  confidence. 
He  was  consecrated  bishop 
of  the  Goths,  and  secured 
the  means  of  a  permanent 
propogation  of  Christianity 
among  them,  particularly  by 
inventing  an  alphabet  for 
them,  and  by  translating  the 
Holy  Scriptures  into  their 
language.  In  which  he, 
however,  omitted  Kings  and 
Samuel  to  avoid  stirring  up 
a  warlike  spirit  in  them." 
ii.  126. 

Philostorg.  ii.  5.  "  Accord- 
ing to  Philostorgius,  Ulphi- 
las was  employed  in  nego- 
tiations with  the  Emperor 
Constantine,  who  had  a  high 
respect  for  him,  and  was 
used  to  call  him  the  Moses 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.      26D 


Dr.  Ouien  says:  "The 
devil  who,  under  the  shape 
of  a  serpent,  tempted  our 
first  parents,  has,  with  un- 
wearied application,  labored 
to  deify  that  animal." 

"Scarcely  a  nation  upon 
earth,  but  he  has  tempted  to 
the  grossest  idolatry,  and  in 
particular  got  himself  to  be 
worshiped  in  the  hideous 
form  of  a  serpent."  His. 
Serp.  216. 

And  God  speaks  of  the 
overthrow  of  such  nations 
as  conquering  a  dragon  or 
serpent. 

"The  dragon  shalt  thou 
trample  under  foot."  Ps. 
91:  13. 

"  Art  thou  not  it  that  hath 
*  *  wounded  the  dragon." 
Isa.  51  :  9. 

"I  am  against  thee,  Phar- 
aoh king  of  Egypt,  the  great 
dragon."     Ezek.  29  :  3. 

Gihljon  says:  "The  ruin  of 
Paganism,  in  the  age  of  The- 
odosius,  is  perhaps  the  only 
example  of  the  total  extir- 
pation of  any  ancient  and 
popular  superstition;  and 
may,  therefore,  be  consid- 
ered as  a  singular  event  in 
the  history  of  the  human 
mind." 

Bush  says:  "No  facts  in 
the  chronicles  of  the  past 
are  more  notorious  than  that 
Paganism  under  Constantino 
and  his  successors  did,  after 
a  desperate  struggle,  suc- 
cumb to  Christianity  in  its 
triumphant    progress;     and 


of  his  time.  Consfantine 
permitted  the  Goths  to  set- 
tle down  in  the  district  of 
Moesia.  At  this  time  Ulphi- 
las  was  consecrated  bishop 
of  the  Goths  of  Eusebius  of 
Nicomedia.  Philostorgius, 
being  an  Arian,  had  an  in- 
terest in  making  it  appear 
that  Ulphilas  was  an  Arian 
from  the  first ;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  other  church 
historians,  as  opponents  of 
Arianism,  were  interested 
to  represent  the  fact  as  if 
Ulphilas  was  in  the  first 
place  orthodox,  and  to  trace 
his  detection  i'rom  the  or- 
thodox doctrines  to  outward 
influences  and  causes,  and 
hence  to  fix  the  time  of  this 
defection  under  the  reign  of 
an  emperor  who  was  zeal- 
ously devoted  to  Arianism. 
It  is  very  possible  that  Ul- 
philas had  received  the  sim- 
ple form  of  the  doctrine  of 
Christ's  divinity  from  the 
older  Roman  Church ;  that 
in  the  beginning  he  held 
simply  to  this,  without  tak- 
ing any  part  in  the  dialectic 
doctrinal  controversies  un- 
til by  coming  in  contact,  in 
various  ways,  with  the  Arian 
bishops,  he  was  led  to  em- 
brace the  Arian  system. 

"It  is  interesting  to  ob- 
serve that  Socrates  (iv.  33) 
recognized  even  among  the 
Goths,  althougli  they  were 
Arians,  the  genuine  spirit 
of  martyrdom.  For  he  says, 
although  the  barbarians 
erred  through  their  simplic- 


270 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


that  the  religion  of  the  gos- 
pel, after  subsisting  Vor  one 
or  two  centuries  posterior  to 
the  age  of  Constantine  in  a 
state  of  cotnparative  purity, 
did  gradually  become  cor- 
rupt in  doctrine,  carnal  and 
secular  in  spirit,  and  arro- 
gant in  its  claims,  till  linally 
it  allied  itself  to  the  civil 
power  in  a  union  which  gave 
birch  to  the  ecclesiaslico- 
political  dominion  of  the  llo- 
man  pontificate,  for  so  many 
centuries  the  paramount 
scourge  of  Europe."  Bush, 
99,  101. 

'•The  dragon's  tail  drew 
the  third  part  of  the  stars 
of  heaven,  and  did  cast  them 
to  the  earth." 

"The  prophet  that  teach- 
etli  lies,  he  is  the  tail.  For 
the  leaders  of  this  people 
cause  them  to  err;  and  they 
that  are  led  of  them  are  de- 
stroyed."    Isa.  9:15,  16. 

The  new  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  now  insisted  upon  by 
Athanasius,  and  other  dog- 
matical teachers,  drew  awa}" 
persons  more  and  more  from 
the  doctrine  of  one  God. 
The  historian  says: 

"  Among  the  monuments 
of  idolatry  which  were  de- 
stroyed on  this  occasion,  the 
historian  mentions  particu- 
larly an  emhlematic  monster, 
having  the  head  and  body 
of  a  serpent^  branching  into' 
three  tails,  which  were  again 
terminated     by    the    triple 


ity,  yet  they  despised  the 
earthly  life  for  the  sake  of 
the  faith  in  Christ.  In  which 
letters  of  about  the  year 
374,  mention  is  made  of  the 
martyrs  among  the  Goths. 
Basil  procured  relics  of  the 
martyrs  who  died  there. 

"The  Gothic  clergy  be- 
gan , already  to  busy  them- 
selves with  the  study  of  the 
Bible.  The  learned  Jerome 
was  surprised,  while  resid- 
ing at  Bethlehem  (in  403), 
by  receiving  a  letter  from 
two  Goths,  Sunnia  and  Fre- 
tela,  making  inquiries  about 
several  discrepancies  which 
they  had  observed  between 
the  vulgar  Latin  and  the  Al- 
exandrian version  of  the 
Psalms,  and  Jerome  begins 
his  answer  in  the  following 
words:  'Who  would  have 
believed  that  the  barbarian 
tongue  of  the  Goths  would 
inquire  respecting  the  pure 
sense  of  the  Hebrew  origi- 
nal ;  and  that,  while  the 
Greeks  were  sleeping,  or 
rather  disputing  with  each 
other'  (according  to  another 
reading,  'despising  it'), 
'Germany  itself  would  be 
investigating  the  divine 
word?'  Jerome  could  say 
that  the  red  and  yellow- 
haired  Goths  carried  the 
church  about  with  them  in 
tents,  and  perhaps  for  this 
reason  battled  with  equal 
fortune  against  the  Romans, 
because  they  trusted  in  the 
same  religion.  When  Ala- 
ric,  the  leader  of  the  West 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHUllCH,       271 


heads  of  a  doc;,  a  lion,  and  a 
wolf."    Bush,  107.    Gib.,  465. 

The  "  tail  "  had  three  heads. 
The  fulfiHment  is  obvious, 
and  the  application  unmis- 
takable. 

Popery  is  not  a  part  of 
Christianity,  but  a  natural 
outgrowth  of  Paganism ;  a 
parasite,  fastening  upon  the 
s  e  m  i-C  h  r  i  s  t  i  a  n  Roman 
Church,  as  the  result  of  her 
pagan  origin,  and  amalgam- 
ation of  pagan  worship. 
Popery  dates  far  back  in 
the  rude  superstitions  of  the 
savage  tribes,  a  thousand, 
years  before  Christianity, 
and  over  thirteen  centuries 
before  the  Eoman  Catholic 
Church. 

POPERY    IN    THE  DAYS  OF 
NUMA. 

B.  C.  714.  We  find  the 
Roman  Church  much  more 
perfectly  set  forth  than  at 
any  subsequent  time  before 
the  Nicene  Council.  Not 
till  long  after  the  days  of 
Const antine  did  the  dragon 
fasten  itself  tirmly  upon  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church, 
The  following  from  LiddelPs 
History  of  Rome  sets  forth 
the  oldest  form  of  Popery  in 
Rome. 


Gothic  army,  captured 
Rome,  and  spread  conster- 
nation all  around,  the 
churches  of  St.  Peter  and  St 
Paul,  and  the  chapels  of  the 
martyrs,  became  the  univer- 
sal places  of  refuge ;  and 
they  remained  with  all  their 
treasures,  and  all  the  men 
who  had  fled  to  them  re- 
spected and  spared  amid  all 
the  havoc  of  devastation. 
Not  a  man  of  the  barbarians 
touched  these  spots ;  nay, 
they  conveyed  thither  them- 
selves many  unhappy  indi- 
viduals who  had  excited  their 
pitv,  as  to  a  place  of  safety." 
ii.  129. 

What  a  lovely  character 
is  here  portrayed!  How 
broad  is  the  contrast  when 
compared  with  the  sanguin- 
ary spirit  of  the  Catholics? 

Waddington  says  of  Ulphi- 
las,  the  apostle  ol'  the  Goths: 
"  Uphilas  is  believed  to  have 
been  the  descendant  of  a 
Cappadocian  family  carried 
into  captivity  by  the  Goths, 
in  the  reign  of  Gallienus. 
His  conversion  to  Arianism 
is  referred  to  his  embassy  to 
the  court  of  Valens,  in  378, 
and  on  his  return  home  he 
diligently  diffused  that  her- 
esy. It  would  appear,  how- 
ever, that  his  method  of  se- 
duction was  to  assure  the 
Goths  that  the  disputes  be- 
tween the  Catholics  and 
Arians  were  merely  verbal. 


272 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


THE    ROMAN    PONTIFFS. 

Numa,  B.  C.  714.  "For 
the  regulation  of  the  wor- 
ship of  the  gods,  and  to  de- 
cide all  questions  of  relig- 
ion, he  created  four  Pontiffs, 
with  a  Superior,  named  Pon- 
tifex  Maximus.  These  act- 
ed as  a  kind  of  ecclesiastical 
council."     (p.  31.) 

Here  we  see  the  origin  of 
the  pope  and  his  cardinals. 

VIRGINS,    SISTERS,   FIRE. 

Romulus  and  Remus 
were  born  of  a  vestal  vir- 
gin, p.  24. 

"To  keep  alive  the  sacred 
fire  of  Vesta,  which  had 
been  brought  from  the 
shrine  of  the  goddess  at  Al- 
ba, the  mother  city  of  Rome, 
he  ordained  that  there  should 
be  four  vestal  virgins.  In 
honor  of  Vesta  (the  goddess) 
he  built  a  temple."    p.  31. 

THE    FIRST    CATHOLIC     POPES. 

A.  D.  337.  Julius  the 
first  Bishop  Pope. 

A.  D.  352.  Liberius  the 
Arian  Pope. 

A.  D.  366.  Damasus  the 
Fightiug  Pope. 

Jortin  says:  "The  tempo- 
ral prosperity  of  the  clerg.y, 
began  with  its  head,  the  Ro- 
man pontiff.  In  the  opin- 
ion of  the  barbarous  nations 
which  embraced   Christian- 


not  at  all  affecting  the  sub 
stance  of  faith — so  that  his 
success  was  gradual,  and  at 
first  imperfect;  thus,  for  in- 
stance, in  the  time  of  Theo- 
doret  the  Goths  avowed 
their  belief  that  the  Father 
W'as  greater  than  the  Son ; 
but  they  were  not  yet  pre- 
pared to  aflSrm  that  the  Son 
was  created,  though  they 
continued  to  communicate 
with  those  who  held  that 
opinion.  Almost  at  the  very 
moment  when  Julian  w^as  la- 
boring for  the  re-establish- 
ment of  paganism,  Ulphilas, 
who  is  commonly  called  the 
apostle  of  the  Goths,  was 
dift'using  the  knowledge  of 
the  gospel  with  great  rapid- 
ity among  that  young  and 
X)Owerful  people;  so  that  the 
first  invaders  of  the  empire 
had  previously  learnt  in  their 
own  land  to  profess,  or  at 
least  to  respect,  the  religion 
of  the  empire.  The  Goths 
then  were  early  and  easy 
proselytes  to  Christianity : 
Tiirasamond,  King  of  the 
Vandals  in  Africa;  Theodoric, 
of  the  Ostrogoths,  in  Italy; 
Alaric,  of  the  Visigoths,  in 
Spain;  Gondeband,  of  the 
Burgundians,  were  all  Ari- 
ans.  At  a  council  held  at 
Brague,  or  Braccara,  in  Por- 
tugal, in  the  year  412,  on  the 
irruption  of  an  idolatrous  or 
Arian  host  of  Alani,  Suevi, 
and  Vandals,  the  bishops 
prepared  themselves  to  re- 
sist at  every  risk  the  de- 
structive torrent.     For  this 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRIfTIAN   CHURCH.       273 


ity,  the  pope  succeeded  to 
the  rights  and  powers  of  the 
high  priest  of  the  Druids, 
or  of  the  Sovereign  Pontitf, 
whose  authority  had  been 
incredible,  and  as  head  of 
the  church  had  the  same  ti- 
tle and  honors," 

What  these  nations  were 
thus  disposed  to  grant,  Rome 
was  willing  to  claim,  and 
that  it  might  not  be  taken 
from  him  in  subsequent 
times,  he  grounded  it  upon 
pretended  reasons  drawn 
from  the  Old  and  New  Test- 
aments. Hence  arose  that 
immoderate  authority  of  the 
pope. 

"The  parent  of  so  many 
wars  and^ calamities,  that  he 
who  was  excommunicated 
by  popes  and  by  prelates, 
forfeited  all  the  rights,  not 
only  of  a  citizen,  but  of  a 
human  creature.  This  no- 
tion, borrowed  also  from  a 
pagan  superstition,  crept 
into  the  church,  to  the  un- 
speakable detriment  of  all 
Europe."  Mosh.  p.  291.  Jor. 
iii.  65. 

While  emperors  were  pa- 
gan, the  bishops  of  Rome 
were  subordinate.  When 
Constantine  became  Chris- 
tian, they  were  exalted  as 
sovereigns.  Yet  the  emper- 
or still  retained  the  ofiice  of 
pontiff  inherited  from  his 
pagan  ancestors.  When 
18 


purpose  they  appear  to  have 
adopted  two  measures  which, 
in  their  union  at  least^  are 
strongly  indicative  of  the 
state  of  religion  in  that  age 
and  country.  The  first  was 
to  publish  an  abbreviation 
of  the  Creed  of  the  Catholic 
Church;  the  second,  to  con- 
ceal in  the  securest  recesses 
and  caverns  the  invaluable 
relics  of  their  saints."  Flou- 
ry, H.  E.,  lib.  xxiii.  sec.  6. 
Notes.     Wad.  pp.  115-117. 

"In  the  fourth  century 
even  the  great  St.  Ambrose 
condescended  to  adopt  the 
miraculous  method  of  argu- 
ment for  the  conversion  of 
the  Arians.  He  used,  in  his 
disputes  with  those  heretics 
to  produce  men  possessed 
with  devils,  who,  on  the  ap- 
proach of  certain  Catholic 
relics,  were  obliged  by  pre- 
ternatural compulsion  to  ac- 
knowledge with  loud  cries 
that  the  doctrine  of  the 
Council  of  Nice  was  true, 
and  that  of  the  Arians  both 
false  and  of  most  dangerous 
consequence.  This  testi- 
mony of  the  Prince  of  dark- 
ness was  regarded  by  St. 
Ambrose  as  unquestionable 
and  conclusive."  Wad.,  pp. 
115-117. 

A.  D.  381.  The  following 
nations  were  now  known  as 
Christian,  or  partially  so,  but 
refused  to  adopt  the  Roman 
religion.  The  Orientals, 
Greeks,  Ostragoths  of  Italy, 


274 


CHURCH    HISTORY, 


Constantine  abandoned 
Rome  for  Constantinople, 
the  bishop  of  Rome  sat  upon 
the  only  throne  of  the  old 
capital,  and  aspired  to  impe- 
rial power.  He  desired  to 
be  "Supreme  Pontiff,  King, 
and  Emperor."  Jealousy  of 
the  East,  the  growing  West, 
Italian  patriotism,  hatred  of 
the  Greeks,  ambition,  love 
of  power,  and  wealth,  all 
united  the  West  in  his  in- 
ter est.  Rome  without  a 
sovereign  would  have  sunk 
to  the  position  of  an  ob- 
scure village.  Circumstan- 
ces combined  to  increase 
his  power  or  inflate  his  pride. 
The  See  of  Rome  became 
the  throne  of  a  race  of  popes. 
Rome  preserved  her  domin- 
ion, she  spared  the  emperor, 
but  retained  the  empire. 
She  lost  the  purple  but  pre- 
served the  pontiff.  The 
bishop  of  Rome,  as  pope, 
succeeded  to  the  throne  of 
Rome,  and  the  empire  of 
the  world.  It  was  a  desir- 
able office. 

Mosheim  says:  "The bish- 
op of  Rome  surpassed  all 
his  brethren  in  the  magnifi- 
cence and  splendor  of  the 
church  over  which  he  pre- 
sided; in  the  riches  of  his 
revenues  and  possessions; 
in   the  number  and  variety 


Yisigoths  of  Spain,  Goths  of 
Germany,  Alani,  Bavarians, 
Burgundians,  Suevi,  Van- 
dals, Normans,  Visigoths, 
Ostrogoths,  Britons,  Welsh, 
Scots;  with  kings,  bishops, 
historians;  while  the  Roman 
Church  could  not  boast  of 
one  historian,  one  king,  or 
one  nation  fully  Roman 
Catholic.  Christians  hold- 
ing the  primitive  faith,  ad- 
hering to  the  Bible,  as  Ne- 
ander  confesses,  loith  tJie 
strictness  of  verhal  accu- 
racy^ these  vrere  the  true 
church,  truly  orthodox, 
evangelical,  and  catholic. 
Not  Roman,  but  general; 
spread  over  all  the  nations. 
It  was  no  church  of  a  day. 
They  give  the  Arians  too 
much  credit  who  suppose 
that  they  rose  in  the  fourth 
century,  were  condemned 
in  the  fourth  century,  and 
as  missionaries  converted 
more  nations  in  the  fourth 
century  than  the  Romans 
ever  converted. 

A.  D.  3  78.  Jortin  says: 
"Christianity  had  gained  ad- 
mittance in  the  Gothic  na- 
tions before  the  time  of  Val- 
ens.  In  his  reign  a  part  of 
the  Goths  had  been  defeated 
by  the  Ilunns,  and  sent  an 
embassy  to  the  emperor 
desiring  that  he  would  give 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.      275 


of  his  ministers  ;  in  his  cred- 
it with  the  people;  and  in 
his  sumptuous  and  splendid 
manner  of  living.  These 
dazzling  marks  of  human 
power,  these  seeming  proofs 
of  true  greatness  and  felic- 
ity, had  such  a  mighty  in- 
fluence upon  the  minds  of 
the  multitude,  that  the  see 
of  Rome  became,  in  this 
century,  a  most  seducing 
object  of  sacerdotal  ambi- 
tion. Hence  it  happened, 
that  when  a  new  pontiff  was 
to  be  elected  by  the  sufl'ra- 
ges  of  the  presbyters  and 
the  people,  the  city  of  Rome 
was  generally  agitated  with 
dissensions,  tumults,  and 
cabals,  whose  consequences 
were  often  deplorable  and 
fatal.  The  intrigues  and 
disturbances  that  prevailed 
in  that  city  in  the  year  366, 
when,  upon  the  death  of 
Liberius,  another  pontiff  was 
to  be  chosen  in  his  place, 
are  a  sufficient  proof  of 
what  we  have  now  advanced. 
Upon  this  occasion,  one  fac- 
tion elected  Damasus  to  that 
high  dignity,  while  the  op- 
posite party  chose  Ursicinus, 
a  deacon  of  the  vacant 
church,  to  succeed  Liberius. 
This  double  election  gave 
rise  to  a  dangerous  schism, 
and  even  to  a  civil  war  with- 
in the  city  of  Rome,  which 
was  carried  on  with  the  ut- 
most barbarity  and  fury,  and 
produced  the  most  cruel 
massacres  and  desolation. 
This  inhuman  contest  ended 


them  leave  to  cross  the  Dan- 
ube, and  to  settle  in  Thrace, 
offering  to  serve  in  the  Ro- 
man armies.  The  chief  per- 
son of  this  embassy  was  the 
celebrated  Gothic  bishop, 
Ulfila,  who  had  great  author- 
ity amongst  them,  having  la- 
bored incessantly  to  civilize 
them,  and  to  instruct  tliem 
in  Christianity,  and  having 
on  that  account  suffered  per- 
secution from  those  Goths 
who  were  pagans.  He 
taught  his  converted  Goths 
the  use  of  letters,  and  made 
them  a  Gothic  alphabet 
formed  upon  the  model  of 
the  Latin  and  Greek  char- 
acters. He  also  translated 
the  Scriptures  into  their  lan- 
guage; but  it  is  said  that  he 
omitted  the  Books  of  Kings 
lest  the  wars,  of  which  so 
much  is  there  recorded, 
should  increase  their  incli- 
nation to  fighting,  which 
was  already  too  prevalent. 

"Coming  as  embassador 
to  Constantinople,  he  had 
conferences  with  the  Arian 
bishops ;  and  whether  he 
hoped  to  succeed  in  his  ne- 
gotiations through  their 
credit  with  Valens,  or  wheth- 
er he  was  of  himself  inclined 
to  the  same  opinion  with 
them,  or  whether  he  was  in- 
fluenced by  their  represen- 
tations and  arguments,  he 
sided  in  some  measure  with 
them,  and  was  the  occasion 
that  the  Goths  embraced 
Arianism,  or  rather  Semi- 
arianism,  and  spread  it   at* 


276 


CHURCH    niSTORy. 


in  the  victory  of  Damasus; 
but  whether  his  cause  was 
more  just  than  that  of  Ursi- 
cinus,  is  a  question  not  so 
easy  to  determine.  To  nei- 
ther, indeed,  can  we  attrib- 
ute such  principles  as  con- 
stitute a  good  Christian, 
much  less  that  exemplary 
virtue  which  should  distin- 
guish a  Christian  bishop. 
Notwithstanding  the  pomp 
and  splendor  that  surround- 
ed the  Koman  see,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  bishops  of  that 
city  had  not  acquired,  in 
this  century,  that  pre-emi- 
nence of  power  and  juris- 
diction in  the  church  which 
they  afterward  enjoyed." 

"The  fourth  canon  of  the 
council,  holden  at  Sardis  in 
the  year  347,  is  considered, 
by  the  votaries  of  the  Ro- 
man pontiff,  as  the  principal 
step  to  his  sovereignty  in 
the  church.  The  fourth  can- 
on of  the  Council  of  Sardis, 
supposing  it  genuine  and 
authentic,  related  only  to 
the  particular  case  of  a 
bishop's  being  deposed  by 
the  neighboring  prelates, 
and  demanding  permission 
to  make  his  defense.  In 
that  case,  this  canon  pro- 
hibited the  election  of  a 
successor  to  the  deposed  in- 
dividual, before  the  pontiff 
had  examined  the  cause,  and 
pronounced  sentence," 

"•  The  imprudence  of  the 
emperor,  and  the  precipita- 
tion of  the  bishops,  were 
singularly  discovered  in  the 


forward  quite  through  the 
west.  Ulfila  is  said  to  have 
told  the  Goths  that  those 
violent  disputes  about  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  arose 
from  the  mere  pride  and  am- 
bition of  ecclesiastics,  and 
were  altercations  of  no  im- 
portance, and  that  the  fun- 
damentals of  Christianity 
were  not  concerned  in  them. 
Accordingly  the  Goths  used 
to  affirm  that  the  Father  wes 
greater  than  the  Son,  but 
yet  would  never  say  that  the 
Son  was  a  creature^  though 
they  held  communion  with 
those  who  said  so, 

"About  the  same  time,  or 
a  little  sooner,  the  Pagan 
Goths  persecuted  their 
Christian  countrymen,  and 
put  many  of  them  to  death 
who  yet  are  supposed  by 
Socrates  to  have  been  Ari- 
xms.  But  Basnage  and  oth- 
ers are  unwilling  to  allow 
of  Arian  martyrs^  and  sup- 
pose that  Socrates  was  mis- 
taken, and  that  these  mar- 
tyrs were  good  Catholics. 
As  to  Arius,  says  Socrates, 
being  embarrassed  in  the 
controversy,  and  endeavor- 
ing to  confute  Sabellianism, 
he  ran,  as  it  often  happens, 
into  the  other  extreme,  and 
fell  into  an  opposite  heresy. 
But  these  Goths,  plain,  illit- 
erate, and  simple-minded 
men,  received  Christianity, 
and  died  for  it,  without  en- 
tering into  such  deep  specu- 
lations, and  as  to  those  points 
were  rather  adox  than  het- 


ROMAN  CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.       277 


following  event,  which  fa- 
vored extremely  the  rise  and 
ambition  of  the  Roman  pon- 
tiff. About  the  year  372, 
Valentinian  enacted  a  law, 
empowering  the  occupant  oi 
the  see  of  Rome  to  examine 
and  judge  otiier  bishops, 
that  religious  disputes  might 
not  be  decided  by  profane 
or  secular  judges.  The 
bishops  assembled  in  coun- 
cil at  Rome  in  378,  not  con- 
sidering the  fatal  conse- 
quences that  must  arise, 
from  this  imprudent  law, 
both  to  themselves  and  to 
the  church,  declared  their 
approbation  of  it  in  the 
strongest  terms,  and  recom- 
mended the  execution  of  it 
in  an  address  to  the  emperor 
Gratian."     i.  108. 

The  income  of  the  pontifi- 
cal throne  was  immense. 
Leo  III.  covered  the  floor  of 
the  confession  with  gold,  the 
weight  of  which  was  453 
pounds.  He  made  a  balus- 
trade  of  silver  of  1573 
pounds.  He  surrounded  the 
baptistery  with  pillars  of 
porphory.  In  the  midst  was 
a  pillar  on  which  was  a  sil- 
ver lamb  pouring  out  water. 
He  adorned  the  windows 
with  painted  glass — the  first 
we  read  of  such  glass.  The 
gold  employed  amounted  to 
over  800  pounds,  and  the 
silver  21,000  pounds.     The 


erodox."  "Tillemont  seems 
quite  beside  himself,  and 
says  that  Ulfila,  after  having 
done  and  suffered  great 
things,  in  propagating  the 
gospel  amongst  the  Pagan 
Goths,  was  puffed  up  with 
diabolical  pride,  and  that, 
bribed  by  the  Arians,  and 
seduced  by  worldly  and 
wicked  motives,  he  fell  like 
Lucifer,  and  drew  after  him 
to  hell  and  damnation  an 
innumerable  multitude  of 
Goths  and  other  northern 
nations."     Jor.  ii.  310. 

O  f  Constantine's  three 
sons,  Constantino  soon  died; 
Constans  was  murdered,  A. 
D.  350,  by  the  assassin  of 
the  Usurper  Magnentius. 
Constantius  avenged  his 
brother  by  an  energetic  war, 
and  Magnentius  by  suicide 
left  him  sole  emperor.  Con- 
stantius labored  for  the 
peace  of  the  church.  He 
desired  the  bishops  to  draw 
up  such  articles  as  they 
could  generally  agree  upon. 
He  assembled  a  council  at 
Sirmium  in  351.  They  drew 
up  a  confession  of  faith 
which  every  body  confessed 
to  be  biblical  and  without 
heresy.  Liberius  the  Pope, 
and  Hosius  the  President  of 
the  Council  of  Nice  firmly 
refused  to  sign.  They  were 
two  with  Athanasius  against 


278 


CHURCH    I^rSTORY. 


Roman  pound  is  12  ounces. 
Fleury  x.  184.     Jor.  iii.  87. 

The  pope  was  adorned 
with  the  richest  embroider- 
ed garments ,  laced  with  gold 
and  silver.  "Red  was  the 
color  affected  by  the  pope; 
and  to  represent  him  the 
better  the  legates  wore  it." 
These  legates  were  the 
pope's  ministers  and  repre- 
sentatives. They  were  noted 
for  "  pride,  luxury,  and  ava- 
rice." They  traveled  at  the 
expense  of  the  country, 
with  great  equipage,  at  least 
twenty-five  horses.  Jor.  iii. 
283. 

Amongst  the  Greeks  there 
are  no  lord  prelates.  "One 
of  them  said  that  the  pope 
was  not  a  bishop,  but  an 
emperor."  Fleury.  Jor.  iii. 
280. 

"St.  Bernard  told  Pope 
Eugenius  that  he  was  not 
only  the  successor  of  St. 
Peter,  but  of  Constantino." 
Jor.  iii.  272. 

Gregory  II.  caused  the 
tribute  which  was  annually 
paid  to  the  Greek  emperors, 
from  Rome  and  Italy,  to  be 
withdrawn  from  Leo  on  ac- 
count of  his  rejecting  idola- 
try. "He  excommunicated 
him  as  a  cursed  heretic, 
absolved  the  people  of  Italy 


the  world.  He  abhorred 
union.  The  two  were  re- 
moved. Then  both  signed 
the  creed  and  the  condem- 
nation of  Athanasius.  I  am 
sorry  to  find  persecution  re- 
corded, especially  against 
Hosius.  I  hope,  I  suppose,  it, 
is  untrue.  The  witnesses  are 
unreliable.  Some  called  the 
creed  Arian.  Arian  because 
it  omitted  the  word  Homoou- 
sion.  The  Bible  omits  the 
same  word.  They  said : 
'•'•  Ingetmdt  orhis  et  mir- 
a  t  u  s  est  se  esse  Arian- 
iumP  The  world  groaned 
to  find  itself  Arian.  Then 
Constantius  resolved  to  call 
a  general  council.  And  at 
Rimini,  in  359,  over  four 
hundred  bishops  met,  repre- 
senting the  most  distant 
parts  of  the  empire.  They 
confirmed  the  former 
acts. 

Reeves  says :  "  By  these 
specious  declarations,  which 
they  thought  sincere,  the 
CatholiG  'prelates  were  un- 
fortunately deceived,  and 
fancying  the  doctrine  of 
Consuhstantiality  to  he  suf- 
ficiently  expressed  in  other 
words  of  the  context,  joined 
the  hypocrites  in  &igning 
the  captious  formularyy 
p.  112. 

Strange !  The  whole  world 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.      279 


from  their  allegiance  to  him, 
and  seized  Rome  and  its 
territories  for  St.  Peter."  Jor. 
iii.  70.     Mosh.  310. 

Fleury,  the  Catholic, 
quotes  the  saying  of  Pope 
Nicolas  I.  as  follows:  "Be- 
fore the  coming  of  Christ 
there  were  kings,  wlio  also 
were  priests,  as  Melchize- 
dek.  The  devil  hath  imi- 
tated this  i7i  the  person  of 
pagan  emperors  who  were 
sovereign  povtifsP  (Jor. 
iii.  164.)  How  much  clear- 
er is  the  imitation  in  the 
person  of  the  popes  none 
can  fail  to  see.  In  755 
"The  devil,"  again,  "imi- 
tated this  in  the  person  of 
Pope  Stephen  III.,  and  his 
successors  have  continued 
under  the  same  influence 
down  to  this  A.  D.  1870. 

The  claim  that  Christ  cre- 
ated the  first  pope  is  absurd. 
He  said:  Call  no  man  fa- 
ther, i.  (?.,  pope.  The  claim 
that  he  made  Peter  pope  of 
Rome  is  doubly  ridiculous, 
as  Rome  was  then  a  pagan 
city.  I  will,  however,  give 
a  list  of  all  those  claimed 
as  popes,  but  under  their 
true  designation.  Those  of 
the  first  period,  as  bishops, 
are  found  in  the  history  of 


"groaned,"  said  St.  Jerome. 
"Singing,"  says  Reeves,  the 
Catholic.  Yes  the  world 
sang  paeans  of  peace.  Glory 
to  God,  and  good  will  to 
men.  Peace  was  restored 
to  the  church.  Even  the 
Pope — Pope  Liberius — had 
wheeled  into  the  evangel- 
ical line  of  Christian  truth, 
"singing"  the  formulas  of 
union. 

Constantius,  who  had 
passed  some  time  with  his 
army  in  Asia,  on  his  return 
was  taken  sick  at  Cilicia 
with  a  fever.  He  was  bap- 
tized by  the  Christian  bish- 
op (Euzoius),  and  on  the  3d 
of  November  he  died.  Ju- 
lian, called  the  apostate,  his 
cousin-german,  the  son  of 
Constantine's  half-brother, 
succeeded  him.  Julian  was 
a  pagan.  Gibbon  says  that 
he  "  very  narrowly  escaped 
from  being  a  bishop  and  a 
saint."  Perhaps  Gibbon 
had  his  own  fortune  or  mis- 
fortune in  view,  and  sympa- 
thized with  Julian's  fate,  as 
he  did  with  his  folly.  For 
Gibbon  was  designed  for  the 
ministry,  and  preferred  the 
Catholic  hierarchy.  But 
educated  for  a  Calvinist,  he 
saw  the  folly  of  one  and  the 


280 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


the  Christian  Church.     The 
popes  belong  to  Rome. 

POPES    OF    THE   FOURTH    CEN- 
TURY. 

Jortin  says:  ''All  the 
popes,  from  the  time  of  Con- 
stantine,  saints  as  well  as 
sinners,  labored  to  extend 
their  jurisdiction,  and  uni- 
formly carried  on  the  same 
scheme.  Popedom  was  not 
built  in  a  day;  hut  one  en- 
croachment was  followed  by 
another."     iii.  303. 

A.  D.  337.  ''The  Good 
Pope''''  Julius  succeeded 
Mark.  Jortin  says :  "  The 
good  pope  neglected  not  his 
own  interest.  He  claimed 
much  more  than  belonged 
to  him."  Athanasius  and 
his  partisans  went  to  Rome 
and  engaged  Julius  in  their 
favor,     ii.  268. 

A.  D.  352.  PopeLiberius. 
He  signed  the  Arian  Creed. 
Haweis  says:  "For  near  for- 
ty years  Arianism  was  pre- 
valent, especially  in  the 
East;  and,  except  Athana- 
sius and  a  few  resolute  Avit- 
nesses  for  the  truth,  all  the 
bishops  of  any  name  in  the 
Christian  world,  at  Rome, 
Antioch,  Constantinople, 
and  Alexandria  subscribed 
the  Arian  Creed."  (i.  287.) 
Of  course  Athanasius  would 


falsehood  of  the  other,  and 
died  a  skeptic.  Yet  God 
overrules  all  to  his  own 
glory.  And  Gibbon's  life 
was  not  thrown  away,  since 
he  produced  the  "Rise  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire ;" 
a  work  as  acknowledged  by 
Albert  Barnes,  Prof.  Bush, 
and  others,  throwing  more 
light  on  the  fulfillment  of 
revelation,  and  even  on 
church  history,  thus  do- 
ing more  to  establish  the 
truth  of  revelation  than  al- 
most any  other  work.  So 
thus  doth  the  wrath  of  man 
praise  thee,  O  Lord! 

A.  D.  361.  Julian  and  his 
brother  Gallus  were  educa- 
ted for  priests.  His  brother 
lived  and  died  a  Christian. 
Julian,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four,  studied  Philosophy  and 
Belles-Lettres  under  Liban- 
us,  and  renounced  Christi- 
anity for  the  Paganism  of 
his  lathers.  He  rejected 
Christ. 

Jortin  says  that  Mark,  of 
Arethusa,  whom  he  perse- 
cuted, had  saved  his  life  in 
his  youth;  also — 

"The  Emperor  Julian,  who 
rejected  Christ,  did  not  re- 
ject the  notion  of  a  Aoyof. 
His  Aoyof  was  the  sun^  whom 
he  accounted  to  be  the  vis- 


EOMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.       2S1 


not.  His  morals  were  so 
bad  that  he  could  only  find 
a  home  with  those  as  de- 
praved as  himself;  a  depth 
of  depravity  to  which  even 
the  real  Arians  never  sunk. 

Neander  says  :  -'That  Lib- 
erius  .subscribed  a  creed 
drawn  up  at  Sirmium,  called 
the  Second  Sirmium  Confes- 
sion, In  a  letter  to  Ursacius 
and  Valens,  and  another  to 
the  Oriental  bishops  at  large, 
he  testifies  his  acquiescence 
in  the  condemnation  of  Ath- 
anasius.  That  he  subscribed 
a  creed  drawn  up  at  Sirmi- 
um, Liberius  himself  says  in 
his  letter  to  Ililarius..  The 
conclusion  which  some,  who 
would  fain  pass  a  milder  judg- 
ment, on  the  conduct  of  Li- 
berius, *  *  *  that  he 
only  subscribed  the  first 
Sirmian  Creed,  of  tlie  year 
351,  which  proceeded  from 
the  Semiarian  party,  and 
was  extremely  modified  * 
*  *  *  is  in  the  iiighest 
degree  improbable." 

"Liberius,  to  judge  from 
his  own  way  of  speaking 
against  his  own  conscience, 
in  the  affair  of  Athanasius, 
and  from  the  illiberal  spirit 
which  betrays  itself  in 
his  letters  to  the  Eastern 
bishops,  Ursacius  and  Valens, 
was  surely  ready,  in  this 
state  of  feeling,  to  submit 
to  any  thing,  provided  only 
he  could  be  released  from 
his  confinement  and  return 
to  Rome.     *     *     *     *    The 


ible  image   of  the  invisible 
God."     Jor.  i.  385. 

MARK,  A.  D.  360. 

Mark,  bishop  of  Arethusa, 
in  Syria,  though  classed  with 
the  Semiarians,  yet  while  he 
is  cursed  as  a  heretic,  unlike 
the  Catholic  saints,  he  seems 
to  have  adorned  his  profes- 
sion by  a  godly  life,  and  a 
pious  conversation. 

miner  says :  "  Mark,  bish- 
op of  Arethusa,  being  or- 
dered by  Julian,  to  pay  the 
expense  of  rebuilding  an 
idolatrous  temple,  which  he 
had  destroyed  in  the  time 
of  Constantius,  and  refusing 
from  conscientious  motives, 
was  tortured  in  an  uncom- 
mon manner,  and  bore  his 
sufferings  with  such  aston- 
ishing patience,  that  the 
Prefect  said  to  Julian:  'Is  it 
not  a  shame,  sir,  that  the 
Christians  should  be  so  much 
superior  to  us,  and  that  an 
old  man,  over  whom  victory 
itself  would  be  inglorious, 
should  conquer  us.'  He  was 
at  length  dismissed,  and  a 
number  who  had  persecuted 
him,  attended  afterward  to 
his  instructions." 

"The  bishop  had  saved 
the  life  of  Julian,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  reign  of  Con- 
stantius, when  all  his  family 
was  in  danger.  His  charac- 
ter appears  to  have  been 
that  of  eminent  piet}^  and 
virtue.  As  such  he  is  ex- 
tolled  by  Gregory  Naziaa- 


282 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


only  difficulty  is  that  it  does 
not  agree  with  the  testimony 
of  Athanasiiis  that  Liberius 
spent  two  whole  years  in 
exile;  which  statement, 
however,  need  not  be  con- 
sidered as  claiiring  to  be 
strictly  correct  in  point  of 
chronology.  The  Semiarian 
party  saw  in  that  Semiarian 
Creed  a  cunningly-contrived 
device  to  effect  the  suppres- 
sion of  THEIR  peculiar  doc- 
trine. Thus  it  is  confessed 
that  the  Christians  (Semia- 
rians)  w'ere  not  the  persecu- 
tors and  that  Pope  Liberius 
went  over,  not  to  the  Chris- 
tians, but  to  tbe  real  Arians, 
and  became,  not  only  a 
'swift  witness,'  for  them,  but 
betrayed  in  his  letters  an 
'illiberal  spirit,'  and  also  it 
is  confessed  that  Athanasius 
is  not  worthy  of  credit, 
where  he  says  that  Pope 
Liberius  was  'two  years  in 
exile.' "     Nean.  ii.  404,  405. 

A.  D.  366.  On  the  death 
of  Liberius,  '-One  faction 
elected  Damasus,  another 
Ursicinus.  Damasus  fought, 
but  not  the  good  fight  of 
faith."  Many  of  the  other 
party  were  killed,  but  none 
on  the  side  of  Damasus, 
which  leads  us  to  iuior  that 
the  Ursicinus  only  resisted 
the  determined  and  mur- 
derous assault  of  Damasus. 
Might  made  right,  and  Ursi- 


zan,  though  he  had  all  along 
supported  the  Arian  party." 
Mil.  i.  310. 

Gihhon  says:  That  the 
magistrates  satisfied  of  his 
poverty,  desired  onl}-  to  bend 
his  inflexible  spirit  to  the 
promise  of  the  slightest  com- 
pensation. They  a  p  p  r  e- 
hended  the  aged  Prelate ; 
they  inhumanly  scourged 
him ;  they  tore  his  beard, 
and  his  naked  body — anoint- 
ed it  with  honey;  suspended 
it  in  a  net  between  heaven 
and  eartii,  exposed  to  the 
stings  of  insects  and  the  raj^s 
of  a  Syrian  sun.  From  this 
lofty  station,  Mark  still  per- 
sisted to  glory  in  his  crime, 
and  to  insult  the  impotent 
rage  of  his  j^ersecutors.  He 
was  at  length  rescued  from 
their  hands,  and  dismissed 
to  enjoy  the  honors  of  a  tri- 
umph. The  Christians  cel- 
ebrated the  virtues  of  their 
pious  confessor ;  the  Cath- 
olics ambitiously  claimed 
his  alliance  ;  and  the  pagans, 
w4io  might  be  susceptible 
of  shame  or  remorse,  were 
deterred  from  the  repetition 
of  such  unavailing  cruelty. 
Julian  spared  liis  life,  but 
he  had  saved  the  infancy  of 
Julian,  and  posterity  will 
condemn  the  ingratitude, 
instead  of  praising  his  clem- 
ency.    Gib.  ii.  348. 

Jortin  says:  "Mark  of 
Arethusa  suffered  u  n  d  e  r 
Julian.  (See  Remarks  on 
Eccl.  Hist.,  ii.  141,  concern- 


ROMAN  CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      288 


cinus  fell  out  of  the  Jine  of 
succession.     Mosh.  i.  108. 

A.  D.  366.  Pope  Dama- 
sus.  Reeves,  the  Catholic, 
says:  "In  vaiti  did  those 
bigoted  tyrants  of  the  east, 
Constantius  and  Valens,  en- 
deavor to  establish  Arianisra 
on  the  ruins  of  Catholicity: 
the  venerable  bishops  of 
Rome,  Liberius  and  Da- 
masus,  without  arms  and 
worldly  power,  defeated 
their  impotent  attempts ; 
and  if  Liberius,  through  hu- 
man weakness,  made  a  tem- 
porary slip,  he  quickly  re- 
covered himself,  as  soon  as 
free, '  to  renew  the  combat 
with  fresh  resolution.  The 
tyrant's  power  vanished  with 
his  life;  his  memory  is  in 
execration.  But  the  decis- 
ions of  the  church  in  the 
two  Ecumenical  Councils  of 
Nice  and  Constantinople, 
will  retain  their  full  force, 
and  command  respect  to  the 
end  of  time." 

"When  the  young  reader 
of  ecclesiastical  history 
meets  with  these  decisions 
of  councils  in  the  church, 
he  must  be  careful  to  re- 
member that  the  church  by 
such  decisions  enacts  no 
new  articles  of  faith."     130. 

Of  course  the  reader  will 
remember  exactly  the  re- 
verse. The  following  are 
the  doctrines  which  Reeves 
would  have  us  believe,  are 


ing  this  martyr  or  confessor; 
for  it  is  not  agreed  whether 
he  died  of  his  torments  or 
no.)  The  ecclesiastical 
writers,  Socrates,  Sozomen, 
Theodoret,  and  Gregory 
Nazianzan  know  only  one 
Mark  of  Arethusa;  but  Va- 
lesius  conjectures  that  there 
were  two,  in  his  notes  on  So- 
zomen. His  proofs  are  not 
conclusive.  There  might 
indeed  be  more  bishops  than 
one  in  those  times,  who  had 
the  name  of  Mark;  but  we 
find  only  one  Mark  of  Are- 
thusa." "Tillemont's  dis- 
tress on  the  constancy  of 
this  heretic  is  remarkable, 
and  his  diffidence  well  ex- 
pressed. This  is  what  St. 
Gregory,  Theodoret,  and 
Sozomen  have  related  con- 
cerning the  fortitude  of 
Mark  of  Arethusa,  The  fact 
is  too  well  supported  to  ad- 
mit of  a  doubt;  but  it  is  no 
small  difficulty  to  know 
whether  this  fortitude  was 
a  virtue  purely  human,  like 
that  of  the  Reguli,  the  Scae- 
volse,  and  other  heroes  of 
paganism,  which,  in  reality, 
was  only  an  effect  of  their 
pride,  or  whether  it  was  a 
Christian  virtue,  a  gift  of  the 
grace  of  our  Lord,  and  an 
operation  of  that  charity 
which  maketh  saints.  For 
the  foundation  of  true  vir- 
tue is  true  faith,  without 
which  it  is  impossible  to 
please  God,  as  likewise  it  is 
impossible  that  true  virtue 


284 


CHURCH  iiiSTonv, 


some    of  the    old   doctrines 
alwaj's  believed. 

The  Unity  and  Trinity  of 
God,  the  Incarnation  and 
Divinity  of  the  co-eternal 
Son  o(  God,  the  Divinity  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  the  pure 
oblation  of  the  Mass,  the 
real  presence  of  Christ's 
Body  in  the  holy  Eucharist^ 
auricular  Confession,  the  in- 
vocation of  Saints,  praj^ers 
for  the  Faithful  departed." 
131. 

A.  D.  366,  "Daniasus  and 
Ursinus  fought  for  the  bish- 
opric of  Rome,  Tiie  party 
of  Damasus  was  victorious, 
and  many  were  slain  in  the 
contest." 

"He  was  made  bishop, 
when  he  was  sixty  years 
old;  a  time  of  life  in  which 
a  man  who  had  a  grain  of 
philosophy,  not  to  say  of 
Christianity,  would  be  ex- 
tremely indiflerent  about 
preferments  and  promotions, 
and  not  think  of  purchasing 
them  in  such  a  manner. 
Saint  Basil  gives  Saint  Da- 
masus a  very  unfavorable 
character,  and  taxes  him 
with  pride  and  insolence, 
and  contempt  of  other  ec- 
clesiastics, as  inferior  to  him- 
self in  station  and  dignity. 
He  says  that  there  was  no 
gaining  his  favor  but  by 
fcordid  submissions  and  flat- 
teries beneath  a  man  of 
honor." 

"  The   bishopric  of  Rome, 
even  at  that  time,  Avas  a  no- 


should  not  please  him.  And 
history  represents  to  us 
everywhere  this  prelate  as 
engaged  in  the  belief,  in  the 
faction,  and  in  the  intrigues 
of  the  Arians."  H.  Eccl.  vii. 
370.  See,  also,  in  p.  726,  the 
distress  of  Tillemont,  Baron- 
ius,  and  Bollandus  on  this 
grievous  difficulty.  They 
know  not  where  to  place 
Mark  of  Arethusa,  whether 
among  the  saints  or  among 
the  sinners.'''     Jor.  ii.  284. 

Julian  fell,  pierced  by  a 
dart,  while  in  Persia  con- 
ducting a  war  against  that 
country.  He  was  thirty- 
three  years  old,  and  had 
reigned  twenty  months. 
A.  D.  363  Jovian  succeeded 
Julian.  He  was  a  Hungarian 
Christian.  He  made  peace 
with  Persia,  but  was  suffo- 
cated on  his  return  by  char- 
coal left  burning  in  his  room. 

A.    D.   375.      Valentinian 

died  suddenly  in  a  transport 

of  rage. 

"It  is  a  melancholy  thing 
to  consider  a  Christian 
prince  dying  in  such  a  state 
of  mind,  after  having  signal- 
ized his  government  by  se- 
verities exercised  on  unlaw- 
ful occasions,  which  seem 
to  deserve  no  better  name 
than  cruelties.  St.  Ambrose 
however  represents  him  as 
interceding  with  God  for 
Valentinian   his    son,   after- 


KOMAN  ciiuncir. 


qiiRiSTiAN  CHURCH.     285 


ble  post,  as  Damasiis  well 
knew,  who  possessed  it,  and 
who  had  fouglit  for  it,  but 
not  a  good  fight.  Ui)on 
which  occasion  Annnianus 
Marcellinus  hath  made  some 
proper  remarks:  Damasns, 
with  a  view  to  extend  his 
jurisdiction  in  the  east,  ap- 
pointed the  bishop  of  Thes 
salonica  to  be  vicar  of  the 
holy  see,  and  the  pope's 
deputy.  We  can  not  see, 
says  Tillemont,  what  right 
he  had  to  do  this.  Can  you 
not  see  it?  He  had  the  same 
'right  that  any  highwayman 
had  to  take  a  purse."  ii.  296. 

"Marcellinus  and  Fausti- 
nus,  two  presbyters  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  presented 
to  the  emperors  Valentinian, 
Theodosius,  and  Arcadius,  a 
complaint  against  Damasus, 
which  is  published  in  the 
Opera,  Sirmuoidi.  Tliese 
presbyters  inform  the  em- 
peror that  under  Constanti- 
us  the  orthodox  were  perse- 
cuted, and  Athanasius  con- 
demned ;  that  Liberius,  bish- 
op of  Rome,  together  with 
three  other  prelates,  refus- 
ing to  consent  to  his  con- 
demnation, were  sent  into 
banishment;  that  Liberius 
setting  out  to  the  place 
whither  he  was  ordered  to 
go,  Damasus,  liis  deacon, 
made  as  though  he  would 
accompany  him,  but  left  iiim, 
as  they  were  upon  the  way, 
and  went  back  to  Kome ; 
that  on  the  same  day  on 
which  Liberius  departed,  all 


ward  Valentinian  IL  Va- 
lentinian finding  the  borders 
of  the  empire  hard  pressed 
by  the  Germans,  associated 
in  the  government  his  val- 
iant brother  Valens." 

A.  D.  375.  Valens  had 
already  offended  the  Roman 
bishops  by  receiving  bap- 
tism at  the  hands  of  the 
learned  bishop,  Eudoxins,of 
Constantinople,  and  the 
Catholic  clergy  are  never  at 
peace  with  those  who  do 
not  suljmit  to  them.  The 
death  of  Valentinian  exposed 
liim  to  constant  verbose  as- 
saults. After  subduing  tlie 
Goths  he  resided  at  Antioch, 
where  he  attended  the  old 
Christian  Church.  Sudden- 
ly there  appeared  before  him 
embassadors  of  the  Goths, 
imploring  the  privilege  of 
emigrating  to  the  waste 
lands  of  Thrace,  to  escape 
the  fiery  lluns  who  were 
pressing  them  from  the 
north.  They  desired  to  en- 
rich the  province,  and  de- 
fend the  throne.  The  alli- 
ance was  accepted,  but  mu- 
tual jealousies,  and  perhaps 
mutual  wrongs,  soon  turned 
these  friends  to  enemies. 
For  the  Romans  massacred, 
or  sold  into  slavery,  the 
children  of  the  Goths. 
Immense    armies    of    the 


286 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


the  clergy  of  Rome,  namely, 
the  presbyters,  Felix  the 
archdeacon,  and  Damasiis 
the  deacon,  and  all  who  had 
any  function  in  the  chnrch 
being  assembled,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Roman  peo- 
ple, sware  that  they  would 
not  choDse  another  bishop 
whilst  Liberins  was  living; 
that  nevertheless  some  of 
the  clergy,  against  their 
promise  and  their  oath,  and 
against  all  decency,  chose 
Felix  the  archdeacon,  who 
was  ordained  in  the  room  of 
Liberins,  to  the  great  dissat- 
isfaction of  all  the  people; 
that  after  three  years,  Libe- 
rins being  recalled,  the  peo- 
ple received  him  with  much 
joy,  and  drove  Felix  out  of 
the  city.  Alter  these  things, 
say  they,  Liberins  died,  hav- 
ing forgiven  those  ecclesias- 
tics who  had  rebelled 
against  him.  Then  those 
presbyters  and  deacons,  and 
the  brethren  who  had  been 
faithful  to  Liberins  during  his 
exile,  proceeded  to  an  elec- 
tion in  the  Julian  Church, 
and  chose  Ursinus.  who  was 
consecrated  by  Paul,  bishop 
of  Tibnr.  Upon  this,  Dama- 
sns,  who  had  always  been 
making  interest  for  the  bish- 
opric, hired  and  drew  to- 
gether the  charioteers  and 
the  rude  rabble,  and  with 
them  forced  his  way  into 
the  church,  and  committed 
great  disorders  for  three  days 
together,  in  which  m  a  n  y 
of  the  faithful  were  massa- 


Alemani  and  other  Germana 
pressed  the  empire  on  the 
north. 

A.  D.  378.  Gratian,  the 
son  of  Valentinian,  ascend- 
ed the  throne  when  a  boy. 

"He  made  a  law  granting 
a  toleration  to  all  Christian 
sects  except  three,  namely, 
the  Ennomians,  the  Photi- 
nians,  and  the  Manicheans, 
who  were  not  permitted  to 
have  any  churches  or  relig- 
ious assemblies.  Afterward 
being  better  instructed  by 
his  teachers,  he  made  laws 
against  all  heretics  and 
schismatics.  But  he  soon 
joined  his  nncle,  and 
bore  himself  nobly  in  the 
war.  Valens  in  the  van  met 
the  attack  and  was  over- 
thrown. He  was  wounded 
by  an  arrow,  and  being 
borne  to  a  cottage  which 
the  enemy  failed  to  force; 
but  set  fire  to  and  consumed 
with  its  inmates.  Gratian, 
too  late  to  assist  his  uncle, 
soon  chose  a  successor  in 
the  bloody  Theodosius." 

A.  D.  372.  "Some  pagan 
philosophers,  desirous  t  o 
know  wiio  should  succeed 
Valens,  had  recourse  to 
magic  art,  and  found  out 
that  his  name  should  be 
GEOA.  This  being  discovered 
by  Valens,  he  put  several  to 
death,  who  had  been  con- 
cerned in  the  affair.  He 
had  for  his  successor  Theodo- 
sius, whose  elevation  to  the 
empire  was  at  that  time  be- 


ROMAX    CIlUKCir. 


CIimSTIAN    CHURCH. 


287 


cred.  Seven  d;i,vs  after  tliis, 
with  the  perjured  crew  that 
followed  him,  and  with  a 
band  of  gladiators,  to  whom 
he  had  given  large  sums  of 
money,  he  seized  the  Late- 
ran  Church,  and  was  there 
ordained.  Then,  having 
bribed  two  magistrates  of 
the  city,  he  caused  Ursinus, 
a  venerable  man,  who  had 
been  first  made  bishop,  to 
be  sent  into  banishment, 
with  the  deacons  Amantius 
and  Lupus.  The  Roman 
people  assembled  together, 
and  would  have  hindered 
Damasus  from  taking  i^os- 
session  of  the  pontificate ; 
but  he  cleared  his  way 
through  them  by  blows  and 
bastinadoes,  and  some  died 
of  the  wounds  which  they 
had  received.  He  also  at- 
tempted to  drive  out  of  the 
city  seven  presbyters,  who 
were  put  into  prison  by  the 
magistrates;  but  the  faith- 
ful people  rescued  them,  and 
carried  them  into  the 
church  of  Liberius.  Then 
Damasus,  with  the  ecclesi- 
astics of  his  faction,  joined 
to  gladiators,  charioteers, 
and  rustics,  armed  with 
hatchets,  swords,  and  clubs, 
besieged  the  church,  and  be- 
gan a  I'urious  battle,  setting 
fire  to  the  doors,  and  burst- 
ing them  open,  whilst  others 
of  his  partisans  had  clam- 
bered up,  and  were  pelting 
their  adversaries  with  tiles 
from  the  top  of  tlie  edifice. 
Thus  the  Damasians  forced 


yond  the  reach  of  human 
foresiglit  or  conjecture. 
This  story,  with  abundance 
of  circumstances  confirming 
it,  is  related  by  contempor- 
aries, bj^  Pagans  and  Chris- 
tians, by  Ammianus  Marcel- 
lus,  Zosimus,  Socrates,  Sozo- 
men  and  others;  and  seems, 
whether  true  or  false,  to  be 
the  most  attested  instance 
of  pagan  and  magical  divi- 
nation that  is  extant  in  his- 
tory."    Jor.  ii.  289. 

Five  months  after  the 
death  of  Valens,  Gratian  in- 
troduced to  the  empire,  his 
colleague  and  its  master. 
Theodosius  was  now  thirty- 
three  years  of  age. 

Gibbon  says:  "Theodo- 
sius was  the  first  of  the  em- 
perors baptized  in  the  true 
faith  of  the  Trinity."  (iii. 
71.)  And  as  he  ascended 
from  the  holy  ibnt  he  pre- 
scribed the  faith  of  his  sub- 
jects; "the  faith  noio  pro- 
fessed by  the  Pontilf  Dama- 
sus, and  by  Peter,  bishop  of 
Alexandria."  Those  hold- 
ing their  doctrine  he  author- 
ized to  "assume  the  name 
of  Catholic  Christians;" 
others  were  "  extravagant 
madmen."  The  Christian 
world  was  stunned,  but  the 
blow  could  not  be  resisted. 
A  vast  army  visited  Oonstan 


28S 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


their  way  in,  and  slew  an 
hundred  and  sixty  persons, 
men  and  women,  and  wound- 
ed several  who  died  after- 
ward: but  of  the  party  of 
Daraasus  not  one  was  slain. 
The  people  cried  out  for  jus- 
tice, and  for  the  expulsion 
of  Damasus;  but  the  pre- 
late had  taken  his  measures 
so  well  that  nothing  was 
done  against  him."  Jor.  ii. 
299. 

A.  D.385.  "PopeSiricins 
decided  that  Mary  remained 
a  virgin,  after  the  birth  of 
ChrisV'     Bel.  i.  116. 

A.  D.  398.  "Pope  Anas- 
tatius  had  Origen  c  o  n- 
demned." 

ST.  AUGUSTINE — IIAGAR  AND 
SARAH. 

Jortin  says:  "Sarah  and 
flagar,  says  Augustine,  are 
types  of  the  Catholic  Church 
and  of  the  heretics.  When 
Hagar  offends  her  mistress, 
this  is  downright  rebellion: 
when  Sarah  beats  Hagar,  this 
is  due  correction."     i.  14. 

Valesius,  the  Catholic, 
says:  "It  is,  and  ever  was, 
permitted  to  the  Catholics 
to  implore  the  aid  of  princes 
and  magistrates  against  her- 
etics, that  they  may  be  re- 
strained and  kept  in  order, 
and  that  they  may  not  inso- 
lently  exalt  themselves 
above  the  Catholics."  Va- 
lesius quotes  Augustine's 
persecution  of  the  Donatists 
as     ar.thority;     but    Jortin 


t  i  n  o  p  1  e,  and  thrust  the 
Christians  from  an  hundred 
churches.  Danophilus,  the 
bishop,  refused  to  bow  to 
Pope  Damasus,  and  the  army 
occupied  the  churches,  and 
installed  in  the  Palace 
Church  of  St.  Sophia,  Grego- 
ry Nazianzan.  It  seems 
hard  that  an  inconsider- 
able congregation  (an 
hundred  people),  of  secta- 
ries, should  usurp  the  hun- 
dred churches,  which  they 
were  insufficient  to  fill, 
whilst  the  far  greater  part 
of  the  people  were  crueby 
excluded  from  every  place 
of  religious  worship.  *  *  * 
The  Church  of  St.  Sophia 
was  occupied  by  a  large 
body  of  the  Imperial  Guards, 
and  Gregory's  'entrance 
into  the  fold  was  that  of  a 
wolf,  rather  than  a  shep- 
herd.' "  The  Christians,  for- 
bidden to  assemble  in  the 
city,  went  without  the  gates. 
Persecuted  by  day  they  as- 
sembled by  night.  Their 
torchlight  processions  ex- 
citing the  envy  of  the  Cath- 
olics, they  instituted  counter 
processions.  The  emperor 
was  not  idle.  Fifteen  edicts 
were  sent  from  the  throne 
in  fifteen  years.     The  great 


ROMAN  CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      289 


adds:  "How  could  Valesius 
even  name  Auguetine,  who, 
by  the  weak  things  which 
zeal,  not  ill  nature,  urged 
him  to  say  on  this  subject, 
tarnished  in  some  degree 
his  own  reputation,  and  es- 
poused a  cause  full  of  ab- 
surdities, which  all  the  wit 
of  man  can  not  defend,  and 
of  spots  which  all  the  water 
of  the  ocean  can  not  wash 
off."     Jor.  i.  14-18. 

Tillemont,  speaking  of  the 
trials  of  the  Trinitarians  un- 
der Constantius,  when  the 
Christians  called  Semiarians 
were  in  favor,  warms  with 
the  evil,  and  utters  these 
Christian  sentiments:  "Con- 
viction and  persuasion  can 
not  be  brought  about  by 
the  imperious  menaces  of 
princes;  nor  is  there  any 
room  left  for  the  exercise  of 
reason — such  doctrines  pro- 
ceed from  the  inventions  of 
men,  not  from  the  Spirit  of 
God  who  forces  and  compels 
no  one  against  his  will."  Jor- 
tin  says  :  "A  lucid  ray  shot 
through  the  soul  of  this  su- 
perstitious, though  else  val- 
uable writer,  as  a  flash  of 
lightning  in  a  dark  night. 
When  a  man  suffers,  and 
sees  his  friends  suffering  for 
conscience'  sake,  he  per- 
ceives the  beauty  of  the  sa- 
cred  rule,  Whatever  ye 
19 


soldier  did  nothing  by  halves. 
To  the  Papist  he  was  as  sub- 
missive as  a  dog.  To  others 
as  fierce  as  a  tiger.  Thus 
ran  his  edicts : 

1.  "Death  was  the  penal- 
ty for  celebrating  the  Sup- 
per on  the  night  when  Jesus 
instituted  it,  and  the  resur- 
rection on  the  third  day  fol- 
lowing, instead  of  the  Ko- 
man  time." 

2.  "  Ten  pounds  of  gold 
(about  two  thousand  dollars) 
was  the  penalty  for  promot- 
ing or  receiving  ordination." 

3.  "The  religious  meetings 
by  day  or  night,  in  city  or 
country,  were  forbidden,  and 
the  property  forfeited  to  the- 
imperial  domain," 

4.  "The  people  were 
branded  by  political  excora^ 
munication.  The  Eunomian 
could  not  make  a  will." 

5.  "The  Arian  could  not 
inherit  property." 

6.  "Manicheans  were  to 
be  put  to  death." 

7.  "Every  Roman  might 
be  an  informer;  but 

8.  "The  office  of  inquisit- 
or of  faith  Avas  now  insti- 
tuted. Of  seven  persons 
tortured,  condemned,  and 
executed,  the  first  was  Pri- 
cillian,  himself  bishop  of 
Avila,  in  Spain,  who  adorned 
the  advantages  of  birth  and 
fortune  by  the  accomplish- 
ments of  eloquence  and 
learning.  Two  presbyters 
and  two  deacons  accompa- 
nied  their   beloved  master 


290 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


would  tliat  others  should  do 
unto  you,  do  ye  even  so 
unto  them ;  but  when  the 
orthodox  persecute  the  het- 
erodox, this  pious  author 
winks  hard  and  can  see  no 
great  harm  in  it."  Jor.  i.  14. 
Ambrose  was  born  in 
Gaul,  340.  Dupin  tells  us 
"that  while  the  infant  was 
one  day  sleeping  in  his  fa- 
ther's palace,  a  swarm  of 
bees  surrounded  his  cradle, 
and  after  reposing  on  his 
lips,  suddenly  ascended  high 
into  the  air,  and  disappear- 
ed."    Wad.  128. 

Although  this  was  an  old 
story  about  Plato,  yet  the 
Catholics  have  adopted  it. 

He  was  born  of  noble  pa- 
rents, and  A.  D.  374  was 
Governor  General  of  the 
Province  of  Milan.  The 
;See  of  Milan  being  vacant, 
and  the  Catholic  party  hav- 
ing no  priest,  or  at  least 
none  fit  for  the  office,  to  de- 
feat the  Christians,  they  ap- 
pealed to  the  governor,  Am- 
brose to  be  their  bishop. 

"Ambrose  (whether  Pa- 
gan or  Christian),  was  not 
yet  baptized,  nor  had  he  yet 
been  admitted  to  the  com- 
munion of  the  faithful." 

HIS   IMMORALITY^ 

Waddington  says:  "It 
was  in  vain  that  the  bishop 


in  his  death,  which  they  es- 
teemed as  a  glorious  martyr- 
dom."    Gib.  iii.  82. 

The  name  also  is  giA^en  of 
"Euchrocia,  a  noble  matron," 
"'Latronian,  a  poet  who  ri- 
valed the  fame  of  the  an- 
cients," besides  the  exiled 
"bishops."  Other  "bishops" 
were  "accusers."  Ithicus 
beheld  the  tortures,  and  so- 
licited the  death  of  the  her- 
etics. The  friendly  pen  of 
the  infidel  defends  the  char- 
acter of  the  slaughtered. 
Gib.  iii.  83. 

A.  D.  379.    The  Priscilli 
anists      spread     themselves 
through  Spain  and  Portugal, 
and    were   persecuted   with 
great  violence  and  cruelty. 

"Their  tenets,  says  Tille- 
mont,  were  an  horrible  con- 
fusion of  all  sorts  of  impie- 
ties, which  flowed  into  this 
sect,  as  into  a  jakes.  There 
was  nothing  so  abominable 
in  the  most profaneopinions 
which  it  did  not  adopt.  It 
was  a  monstrous  compound 
of  the  grossest  and  filthiest 
errors,  collecting  into  itself 
all  the  stinking  ordure  dis- 
persed throughout  other 
heresies.  Not  content  with 
these  impieties,  it  added  to 
them  the  follies  of  Pagan- 
ism, the  sacrilegious  curios- 
ities of  magic,  and  the  wild 
reveries  of  astrology.  But, 
in  particular,  it  adopted  the 


KOMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


291 


elect,  in  order  to  disqualify 
himself  in  their  eyes  for  a 
sacred  office,  publicly  com- 
mitted some  act  of  judicial 
cruelty  and  flagrant  immo- 
rality. The  people — the 
Catholics — exclaimed,  the 
offense  be  upon  our  heads. 

'•  He  was  then  baptized, 
and  the  eighth  day  alter 
was  consecrated  bishop — de- 
clared in  favor  of  the  Catho- 
lic doctrine  against  the  Ari- 
an,  made  over  his  property 
to  the  church,  and  was  in- 
fected with  the  fury  of  the 
times. 

"His  great  influence  over 
the  populace  attests  the  vig- 
or of  his  character,  more 
certainly  than  it  proves  ei- 
ther his  virtue  or  his  elo- 
quence. 

"It  is  recorded  that  he 
performed  many  astonishing 
miracles."     Wad.  129,  130. 

Haweis  says :  "  A.  D.  293. 
His  zeal,  however,  against 
Arianism  shone  forth  con- 
spicuously; but  his  treatise 
on  virginity,  puerile  and  je- 
june, much  promoted  the 
delusion,  to  the  grief  of 
many  parents. 

"  It  gives  me  no  favorable 
idea  of  the  pastor,  to  find 
him  unable  to  consecrate  a 
church  for  want  of  relics. 

'•But  lo!  at  the  difficult 
moment,  a  vision !  more 
than  was  wanted,  is  discov- 
ered. Two  dead  bodies  of 
n'lartyrs — a  blind  man  is  re- 
stored to  sight,  and  devils 
cast  out."     Haweis,  ii.  294. 


doctrines  of  theManicheans, 
Gnostics,  or  Basilidians." 

Who  would  not  imagine 
from  this  that  Priscillian 
was  the  vilest  of  men,  such 
another  as  Count  Zinzendorf, 
the  infamous  head  of  the 
modern  Moravians?  But 
whence  did  Tillemont  col- 
lect this  detestable  charac- 
ter of  the  Priscillianists? 
From  Augustine,  or  Jerome  ? 

The  Empress  Justina,  wid- 
ow of  Justinian  first,  was 
permitted  to  live,  but  her 
son  was  placed  under  the 
care  of  a  Trinitarian  guar- 
dian ;  and  he  was  denied  the 
use  of  a  single  church  in 
Milan,  by  the  arrogance  of 
Ambrose,  who  governed  the 
bigoted  Theodosius.  A  story 
is  related  of  "the  people," 
a  Catholic  mob,  pressing  the 
gates  of  the  palace  and  the 
embryo  bishop  being  ap- 
pealed to  by  the  young  em- 
peror, to  pacify  the  crowd. 
The  historian  records  that 
the  ecclesiastics  of  the  pro- 
scribed faith  "  who  ventured 
to  show  themselves  in  the 
streets,  were  exposed  to  the 
most  imminent  danger  of 
their  lives."  And  it  is  said  that 
"  the  capital  of  the  East  wore 
the   appearance   of   a    city 


292 


cnuRCii  niSTORr. 


Mosheim  says :  "  Ambrose 
in  his  disputes  with  the  Ari- 
ans,  produced  men  possessed 
with  devils,  who,  on  the  ap- 
proach  of  relics,  were 
obliged  to  acknowledge 
with  loud  cries,  that  the  Ni- 
cene  Creed  was  true  con- 
cerning the  three  persons 
in  the  Godhead;  and  that  of 
the  Arians  not  only  false, 
but  also  of  the  most  danger- 
ous consequence. 

"This  testimony  of  the 
Prince  of  darkness,  was  re- 
garded by  Ambrose,  as  an 
unexceptionable    argument. 

"The  (Aiiti-Trinit-)Arians 
on  the  other  hand,  held  this 
prodigy  in  the  utmost  deris- 
ion, and  maintained  that 
Ambrose  had  suborned  these 
infernal  witnesses  by  a 
weighty  bribe. 

"  And  I  niake  no  doubt, 
many  will  be  more  disposed 
to  believe  the  (Anti-Trinit-) 
Arians,  than  to  credit  Am- 
brose, though  he  be  enrolled 
in  the  order  of  saints,  and 
they  stigmatized  in  the  list  of 
heretics."     Mosh.  i.  113. 

"His  divinity  is  wretched, 
and  often  unscriptural,  and 
his  moral  treatise  insignifi- 
cant. His  funeral  oration 
over  Valentinian,  needs  only 
to  be  read,  to  stamp  the 
courtly  prelate  with  hypoc- 
risy, and  the  rhetorical  de- 
claimer  with  contempt." 
Haweis,  i.  294,  295. 

"•Ambrose,  Jerome,  and 
Chrysostom,  all  vindicate 
the    practice    of    evil    that 


taken  by  storm,  and  in  the 
hands  of  a  barbarian  con- 
queror."    Gib.  iii.  76,  86. 

A.  D.  381.  A  council  as- 
sembled by  Theodosius  is 
compared  by  the  Catholic 
Gregory,  to  "  wasps,  magpies, 
cranes,  and  geese."  Their 
"  ruling  passion  was  the  love 
of  gold,  and  the  love  of  dis- 
pute." They  confirmed  his 
acts,  and  "  gave  the  finishing 
touch  to  the  doctrines  of 
the  Trinity."  Gib.  iii.  78, 
79.  Mosh.  i.  128.  The  beau- 
ty of  the  princess,  or  the  love 
of  Theodosius  for  the  daugh- 
ter of  Valentinian  I.,  pre- 
served the  life  of  the  impe- 
rial family,  and  secured  the 
throne  to  Valentinian  H. 
"ButtheArian  subjects  of 
Theodosius  deplored  the  loss 
of  their  churches."  Gib.  iii. 
95. 

Jortin  says:  "That  Eu- 
nomius,  an  Arian,  was  made 
bishop  of  Cyzicus,  in  the 
year  360.  He  was  after- 
ward deposed,  and  three 
times  banished.  At  last  he 
obtained  leave  to  return  to 
his  own  country,  and  to  die 
at  home.  He  wrote  an  Ex- 
position of  Faith,  and  pre- 
sented it  to  Theodosius,  in 
which  he  useth  no  subter 
fuges,  equivocations,  and  am- 
biguities, but  delivers  his 
sentiments  fairly,  fully,  and 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.      293 


good  might  come.  Indeed 
they  severally  stand  convict- 
ed of  a  want  of  truth,  that  the 
meanest  Christian  of  the 
present  day,  would  blush  to 
have  laid  to  his  charge." 
Havveis,  i.  298. 

Milner  says :  "That  by  en- 
couraging harlots  to  come 
into  his  house,  Ambrose 
took  pains  to  convince  them, 
that  he  was  not  that  char- 
acter of  chastity  which  they 
took  him  to  be.  And  that 
Arianism,  through  his  la- 
bors, was  expelled  from  Ita- 
l3^"     Milner,  i.  329. 

Jortin  says:  ''Ambrose, 
who  was  made  bishop  of 
Milan,  A.  D.  374,  ver^'^  inju- 
diciously defends  the  burn- 
ing of  a  Jewish  synagogue 
by  a  Christian  bishop,  and 
the  unlawfulness  of  rebuild- 
ing it;  and  in  his  letter  to 
Theodosius  on  this  subject, 
he  heaps  together  thoughts 
and  expressions,  which  are 
rather  declamations  than 
arguments,  as  Du  Pin  ob- 
serves verj'-  fairly,  and  hints 
his  dislike  of  such  doctrines, 
though  he  dared  not  to  speak 
out,  and  provoke  the  horn- 
ets." vol.  ii.  p.  285. 

''St.  Ambrose  expressed 
the  most  violent  indignation 
against  the  emperor  upon 
this  occasion.  He  sent  him 
a  letter,  which  is  still  extant, 
and  held  in  veneration,  as  a 
glorious  memorial  of  his  fer- 
vent zeal.  They  are  bold 
men  who  think  that  they  may 
say  and  do  any  thing  under 


perspicuously.  His  books 
were  ordered  to  be  burnt. 
His  disciples  could  not  hold 
together  as  a  sect,  but  were 
divided  into  parties.  Very 
severe  laws  were  made 
against  them.  Eunomius 
had  written  many  books  for 
the  instruction  of  those  of 
his  sect;  for  which  reason 
Theodosius  the  Great  ex- 
pelled him  from  the  capital. 
Arcadius,  using  his  best  en- 
deavors to  extinguish  this 
impious  heresy,  suifei-ed  not 
the  Eunomians  to  hold  as- 
semblies either  in  cities  or 
in  villages.  He  ordered  also 
their  books  to  be  destroyed. 
"  Who  would  not  imagine 
from  these  words  of  Basnage, 
that  the  Eunomians  were 
most  profligate  men?  They 
were,  as  to  doctrine,  a  sect 
of  Arians  ;  in  moral  respects, 
they  were  like  their  ortho- 
dox neighbors;  and  what  is 
here  affirmed  of  their  wick- 
edness seems  to  have  been 
mere  hearsay  and  calumny. 
Basnage  should  have  consid- 
ered that  the  Jesuits  and 
other  zealous  Papists  treat- 
ed him  and  the  Calvinists, 
just  as  he  was  treating  the 
Eunomians,  and  in  the  same 
sort  of  language  would  have 
said,  concerning  the  revoca- 
tion of  the  edict  of  Nantes: 
Let  us  not  here  pass  over 
in  silence  a  law  of  Louis  the 
Great  against  the  Calvinists, 
those  most  pestilent  here- 
tics," etc.  Jortin  continues: 
"Eunomius   was    an   Arian. 


294 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


the  mask  of  godliness.  The 
saint  tells  the  prince  that  he 
could  pray  to  God  no  lon- 
ger for  him,  if  he  would  not 
grant  him  his  request.  Af- 
ter such  a  haughty  prelude, 
he  asks  him  with  what  face 
he  could  order  a  bishop  to 
rebuild  a  synagogue  which 
he  had  burned,  since  the 
bishop  must  either  be  a  pre- 
varicator if  he  obeyed,  or  a 
martyr  if  he  disobeyed  him. 
He  takes  the  fault  upon 
himself,  and  says  that  he  or- 
dered the  deed ;  not  that  this 
was  true,  but  by  the  way  of 
bravado,  and  to  challenge 
the  emperor  to  punish  him 
if  he  dared.  He  tells  him 
that  he  would  have  done  the 
same  at  Milan,  if  God  had 
not  prevented  him  by  burn- 
ing the  Jewish  synagogue 
himself.  He  then  repre- 
sents the  church  of  God  in 
tears,  the  godly  bound  in 
chains  and  fetters,  the  serv- 
ants of  the  Lord  condemned 
to  the  mines,  and  the  tri- 
umphant exaltation  of  the 
impious  Jews,  as  the  sure 
consequences  of  the  emper- 
or's orders.  This  sophistry 
and  these  rodomantades  are 
so  many  tokens  of  gratitude 
which  St.  Ambrose  was 
pleased  to  give  to  his  royal 
master  for  having  been  his 
friend,  his  patron,  and  pro- 
tector; and  with  this  pride 
and  insolence  he  repays  his 
favors.  Theodosius,  howev- 
er, complied,  as  they  say, 
and  excused  the  incendiaries 


We  may  suppose  that  the 
Eunomians  used  one  immer- 
sion, or  rather  one  superfu- 
sion,  and  that  they  baptized 
in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  as  they 
were  plainly  directed  to  do 
by  the  Scriptures,  to  which 
they  paid  as  much  regard  a? 
Consubstantialists.  They 
seem  to  have  been  of  th<» 
opinion  that  it  was  not  nec- 
essary for  persons  to  b»» 
plunged  all  over  in  water 
and  that  it  was  not  decent 
for  them  to  bo  stripped  sr 
the  performance  of  this  re 
ligious  rite.  They  therefore 
only  uncovered  them  to  thp 
breast,  and  then  poured  wa- 
ter upon  their  heads.  Thi? 
was  enough  to  give  their  ad- 
versaries a  pretext  (though 
a  poor  one)  to  calumniate 
them,  and  to  call  them  Ma- 
nicheans,  and  to  charge 
them  with  holding  that  the 
lower  parts  of  the  body  were 
made  by  the  devil. 

"That  they  worshiped 
Eunomius,  and  placed  hi? 
writings  above  the  New 
Testament,  and  despised  tho 
martyrs,  are  some  of  Je 
rome's  usual  style  of  rheto- 
ric, and  arts  of  conrtroversy, 
to  set  the  populace  againsl 
the  Eunomians.  He  might 
as  well  have  said  that  they 
had  cloven  feet,  and  rode 
upon  broom-sticks  in  the 
air."     Jor.  ii.  325,  349. 

Jortin  says  :  "  In  the  The* 
odosian  Code  it  is  said  that 
they  are  comprised  under  the 


EOMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      295 


from  making  restitution. 
His  zeal  ran  away  with  him, 
when  he  justified  the  burn- 
ing of  a  Jewish  synagogue 
by  the  riotous  Christians. 

"  Ambrose,  says  Barbey- 
rac,  had  such  an  impetuous 
imagination,  that  every  thing 
served  him  for  an  argument, 
and  was  so  excessively  cred- 
ulous, as  to  adopt  even  the 
stupid  legend  of  St.  Thecla. 
Jerome  had  a  mean  opinion 
of  the  learning  and  abilities 
of  Ambrose."  Jor.  ii.  305, 
339. 

A.  D.  395.  Augustine,  of 
Africa,  He  was  the  most 
respected  writer  of  the  age 
in  which  he  lived ;  his  works 
were  numerous,  and  many 
of  his  writings  have  sur- 
vived the  age  that  gave 
them  birth  :  though  a  Mani- 
chean,  he  has  attained  to 
the  rank  of  a  saint  in  the 
New  Church,  and  though  a 
Fredestinarian,  he  is  popu- 
lar among  a  people  who  ap- 
prove his  writings,  while 
they  anathematize  his  prin- 
ciples in  others.  That  he 
was  bigoted,  uncharitable, 
and  egotistical,  no  one  will 
perhaps  deny.  The  opin- 
ions and  imaginary  specula- 
tions which  the  fatalist  sets 
forth,  are  designed  to  bind 
man  with  a  chain  of  fate, 
welded  from  the  foreknowl- 


denomination  of  heretics, 
and  subject  to  the  punish- 
ments imposed  on  such,  who 
are  found  to  deviate  even  an 
hair's  breadth  from  the  Cath- 
olic Church,"  and  calls  these 
laws  "  vile,  oppressive,  vex- 
atious, and  scandalous." 

"The  laws  against  the  pa- 
gans may  be  found  in  the 
Theodosian  Code;  and  from 
them  we  learn  that  the  pains 
and  penalties  which  the 
Christians  inflicted  upon 
them  were  not  so  slight  and 
inconsiderable  as  some  may 
imagine.  If  a  sacrifice  was 
offered  up  in  a  private  place, 
with  the  knowledge  of  the 
owner,  the  place  was  to  be 
confiscated.  If  not,  twenty- 
five  pounds  weight  of  gold 
was  to  be  paid,  and  the  pen- 
alty was  the  same  for  a  sac- 
rifice off'ered  in  a  temple. 
If  any  one  consulted  the  en- 
trails of  a  victim  to  discover 
future  events,  it  was  high 
treason."     ii.  345,346. 

Arbogastes,  a  pagan,  mur- 
dered young  Valentinian, 
and  set  Eugenius  on  the 
throne.  Theodoretsays  The- 
odosius  shut  himself  in  the 
church  one  night  to  pray, 
and  saw  in  his  sleep  a  vision. 
St.  Philip  and  St.  John  ap- 
peared on  white  horses,  and 
promised  him  victory.  Theo. 
V.  24.  The  story  of  "  Castor 
and  Pollux,"  is  the  original. 

A.  D.  394.     "Theodosius, 


296 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


edge  of  God.  His  friends 
consider  not  that  the  same 
chain  is  as  truly  fatal  re- 
specting God,  and  binds  him 
who  foreknows  his  own  acts, 
as  truly  as  they  do  the  crea- 
ture, in  the  same  adaman- 
tine chain.  The  very  best 
digested  argument  of  the 
Predestinarian,  has  in  it  the 
elements  of  its  own  destruc- 
tion ;  nor  is  the  difficulty 
avoided  by  making  the  de- 
crees the  foundation  of  God's 
foreknowledge,  since  this 
makes  every  decree  an  in- 
crease of  knowledge ;  the 
first  being  preceded  by  the 
void  of  ignorance,  and  the 
last  only  followed  by  con- 
summate wisdom. 

Haweis  says:  "Augus- 
tine figures  among  the  most 
eminent  of  the  Fathers,  as 
an  author;  but  a  considera- 
ble of  his  writings  will  be 
found  jejune,  declamatory, 
and  somtimes  highly  objec- 
tionable, 

"  His  arguments  against 
the  Donatists  are  weakened 
by  his  calling  in  the  sword 
of  the  civil  magistrate,  and 
the  harsh  syllogisms  of  fines 
and  imprisonment."  Haw- 
eis, i.  399. 

Waddington  says :  "  When 
Priscillian  was  suffering  the 
pangs  of  death,  for  opinions 
resembling   the   Manichean 


after  having  been  almost  de- 
feated, and  reduced  to  great 
distress,  obtained  a  signal 
victory  over  Eugenius,  which 
was  generally  thought  to 
have  been  by  a  particular 
providence,  commanding  the 
storms  to  fight  for  him.  So 
say  Socrates,  Sozomen,  The- 
odoret,  Rufinus,  Ambrose, 
Augustine,  Orosius." 

Eugenius  was  butchered 
at  the  feet  of  Theodosius  im- 
ploring mercy,  and  Arbo- 
gastes  slew  himself  in  the 
mountaii:'s.  The  last  pagan 
prince,  formidable  to  Chris- 
tianity, was  Radagaisus,  the 
Goth,  who,  in  405,  command- 
ed four  hundred  thousand 
men.  He  was  overcome  by 
Stilicho,  and  he  and  his  sons 
taken  and  put  to  death. 
(Jor.  ii.  163,  165.)  The  pa- 
gans still  survived.  Gibbon 
says  I'rom  Numa  to  Gratian 
the  Romans  preserved  the 
regular  succession  of  pon- 
tiff's, and  vestals  devoted 
their  virginity  to  guard  the 
sacred  fire.  The  pontiff's 
would  not  cease  till  the 
dragon  was  entirely  over- 
come. This  had  not  yet 
taken  place.  Gibbon  con- 
fesses "the  last  edict  of 
Theodosius"  '■Hnjlicted  a 
deadly  wound  on  the  siiper- 
stition  of  the  Pagans.^^    And 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.       297 


heresy,  St.  Augustine,  the 
bulwark  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  was  actually  deep- 
ly involved  in  the  very  her- 
esy itself."     Wad.  157. 

St.  Augustine  was  a  Cath- 
olic, a  violent  opposer  of 
Pelagius,  and  the  Donatists, 
and  others,  yet  considered 
with  a  liberal  feeling,  seems 
to  belong  to  a  later  age,  and 
resembles  the  Reformers  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  more 
than  any  other  Catholic  of 
whom  we  read. 

A.  D.  345.  St.  Jerome 
was  a  Catholic,  a  noted  per- 
secutor of  the  old  Christian 
Church,  and  hence,  of  course 
a  saint.  He  is  placed  by 
Haweis  (i.  316)  with  Am- 
brose, as  a  vindicator  of 
pious  frauds,  thinking  it 
right  to  exalt  orthodoxy  by 
any  means.  He  was  born 
in  Stridona,  on  the  confines 
of  Pannonia.  His  family 
was  honorable,  his  fortune 
abundant,  his  education 
good,  and  his  religion  de- 
vout, but  of  the  wrong  spir- 
it. Waddington  calls  his 
eloquence  *' lawless,"  his  op- 
position to  Pelagius  "  vio- 
lent." He  accused  Paul  and 
Peter  with  feigning  their 
difference  in  the  Acts,  and 
prophesied  falsely,  of  course. 


well  it  might.  All  property 
used  for  their  meetings  was 
confiscated,  and  a  line  of 
twenty-five  pounds  of  gold, 
equal  to  five  thousand  dol- 
lars, was  inflicted  fcr  any 
connivance  or  failure  to  in- 
form against  them.  Such 
barbarous  laws  could  not  be 
made  by  a  Christian,  but 
they  well  became  a  Catholic, 
and  were  perhaps  providen- 
tial, for  God  causes  the  wrath 
of  man  to  praise  him;  and 
they  were  attended  with 
their  desired  effect.  The 
Gladiatorial  shows  w^ere 
abolished  by  the  son  of 
Theodosius,  Honorius,  A.  D. 
404.     Gib.  iii.  125,  126,  173. 

The  learned  Christian  writ- 
ers of  this  century  may  be 
ranked  in  the  following  or- 
der: 

1.  Eusebius,  bishop  of 
Casasrea. 

2.  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Ni- 
comedia. 

3.  Macedonius,  bishop  of 
Constantinople. 

4.  Ulphil as,  of  Germany. 

5.  Apoliiuaris,  bishop  of 
Laodicea; 

6.  Marcellus,  bishop  of 
Ancyra. 

7.  And£eus,  who  lied  to 
Germany. 


298 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


on  the  Millennium.  The 
poison  of  asps  was  under  his 
tongue,  and  his  words  were 
very  bitter.  He  wrote  a 
Latin  translation  of  the  Old 
Testament;  which  was  con- 
sidered a  dangerous  innova- 
tion; with  various  polemical 
productions  of  less  merit, 
but  better  received.  He 
united  with  a  contentious 
and  superstitious  spirit,  more 
real  talent  than  any  previ- 
ous Latin  priest. 

Jerome's  learning  and 
abilities  deserved  to  be  hon- 
ored, but  his  impetuous  tem- 
per is  no  secret  to  those  who 
looked  into  his  writings. 

ApoUinarius,  bishop  of 
Laodicea,  fell  into  a  great 
extreme  by  violence  to  the 
Christian  doctrine.  He  de- 
fended the  Deity,  but  denied 
the  humanity  of  Christ,  as- 
serting "that  the  body  of 
Christ  assumed,  was  en- 
dowed with  a  sensitive,  and 
not  a  rational  soul,  but  that 
the  Deity  supplied  the  place 
of  the  mind,  and  suffered  the 
pains  of  the  crucifixion  and 
death,  he  was  thus  lead 
astray  by  his  love  of  disput- 
ing, and  an  immoderate  at- 
lachment  to  the  Platonic 
doctrine."    See  Mosh.  127. 


8.  Cyril,  of  Jerusalem,  ac- 
cused of  Semiarianism. 

9.  Eumonius  and  others. 
Mosh.  i.  107. 

The  Catholics  had  Athan- 
asius,  Hosius,  Gregory, 
Chrysostom,  Cyril,  Hilary, 
Lactantius,  Jerome,  and 
Augustine.  Hilary's  twelve 
books  on  the  Trinity  were 
among  the  best  of  the  age. 
Lactantius  was  a  verbose 
writer,  who  could  criticise 
others,  but  could  never  cor- 
rect  himself.  Augustine 
was  a  good  writer. 

The  sects  were  the  follow 
ing: 

1.  The  Paulicians. 

2.  The  Novatians. 

3.  The  Donatists. 

4.  The  Catholics. 

5.  The  Nestorians. 

6.  The  Arians. 

7.  The  Manicheans. 

The  Christians  regarded 
the  persons  of  all  with  equal 
charity,  and  the  errors  of  all 
with  equal  repugnance. 
The  Cliristians  were  perse- 
cuted under  every  name — 
Paulician,  Arian,  Manichean. 
and  even  in  the  Catholic 
Church  where  they  some- 
times sought  refuge  from  per- 
secution. 


KOMAN    CUURCir.  CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.      299 

FIFTH   CENTURY. 

THE  AGE  OF  PERSECUTION. 

A.  D.  3 81 -A.  D.  1700. 
Men  who  practice  persecution  are  barbarians.  One 
man  has  no  right  to  control  another  man's  faith  or  to  re- 
strict his  liberty.  The  attempt  is  an  effort  to  rob  him  of 
his  liberty,  and  when  it  proceeds  to  death,  it  is  robbery 
ending  in  murder. 


"  An  anonymous  writer  ol 
the  second  century,  says, 
that  Natalis,  a  confes.^or, 
having  accepted  of  a  bish- 
opric amongst  the  heretics, 
was  severely  scourged  all 
night  by  angels,  and  the 
next  morning  repented  and 
returned  to  the  c  h  u  r  c  h. 
(Apud  Euseb.  v.  28.)  The 
testimony  of  this  unknown 
writer  can  not  be  of  great 
authority:  but  the  story 
seems  to  have  given  the 
hint  to  Jerome  to  feign  that 
he  also  underwent  the  same 
discipline  for  studying  pro- 
fane authors,  Cicero,  Virgil, 
etc.  Upon  which  one  of 
the  Italian  Ciceronians  hath 
observed,  that  if  Jerome  was 
whipped  ibr  being  a  Cicero- 
nian, that  is  for  writing  alto- 
gether in  the  style  and  man- 
ner of  Cicero,  he  su''ered 
what  he  did  not  deserve,  and 
might  have  pleaded  Not 
guilty.  Of  all  the  Latin  fa- 
thers Lactantius  would  have 
been  entitled  to  the  most 
stripes  ;  as  being  by  far  the 
purest  and  politest  writer; 
but  he  escaped  this  punish- 
ment :  he  was  not  whipped. 


PAGAN  PONTIFFS  299,'EMPERORS 
300,  LAST  EMPEROR  OF    ROMjE 

303,  ARIAN      KING      ODOACER 

304,  DISLOYAL  CATHOLICS  305, 
JUSTINIAN  307,  EDICTS  308, 
ULPHILAS  320,  ATHANASIAN 
CREED  322,  ATHEISTICAL  327, 
FIRST  CATHOLIC  KING  334, 
SPAIN  337,  FRANCE  338, 
SLAUGHTER,  JUSTINIAN,  342, 
LOMBARDS  343,  AFRICA  345, 
TONGUES  346,  RICHES  OF  THE 
ARIAN  CHURCHES  SEIZED  350, 
SPAIN  350,  FIRST  CATHOLIC 
KING  354,  TOLERATION  355, 
ENGLAND    362,     HELEN      367, 

"From  Numa  (/.  e.,  714 
B.  C.)  to  Gratian  (A.  D.  380), 
the  Romans  preserved  the 
regular  succession  of  the 
several  colleges  of  the  sacer- 
dotal Older.  Fifteen  pagan 
pontiffs  exercised  their  su- 
preme jurisdiction  over  all 
things  and  i)ersons  that  were 
consecrated  to  the  service 
of  the  gods."  Gibbon  enu- 
merates fifteen  augurs  ;  fif- 
teen keepers  of  the  sacred 
books  ;  six  vestal  virgins  ; 
and,  most  striking  of  all,  a 


300 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


he  was  only  starved.  Tille- 
moiit  hath  made  two  extra- 
ordinary concessions  con- 
cerniiif!:  Jerome,  that  he  was 
more  disposed  to  augment 
than  to  diminish  miracles, 
and  that  exactness  was  no 
part  of  his  character.  If  we 
should  say  that  Jerome  was 
a  persecutor,  we  should  do 
him  no  wrong;  we  have  it 
under  liis  own  hand."  Jor. 
ii.  224,  275. 

Jerome,  in  a  treatise  ad- 
dressed to  Eustochium,  had 
censured  very  roughly  tiie 
scandalous  behavior  of  the 
Roman  clergy.  This,  as  we 
may  suppose,  made  them  his 
enemies,  and  they  censured 
him  again  so  freel}^,  that  he 
grew  weary  of  dwelling  at 
Rome,  his  great  friend  and 
patron  Damasus  being  dead, 
Jerome  in  particular  had 
once  extolled  and  followed 
Origen;  and  after  his  quar- 
rels with  his  own  bishop, 
John  of  Jerusalem,  and  with 
Rnfinus.  he  turned  about, 
and  began  to  insult  and  de- 
fame Origen.  His  works 
show  that  he  was  a  man 
strangely  impetuous  and 
wrong-headed,  to  say  no 
more."     Jor.  224,  275. 

"Some  Greek  writers  have 
complained  of  the  vanity 
and  arrogance  of  Jerome. 
But  proud  inen  are  apt  to 
complain  of  one  another, 
and  Jerome  could  as  little 
bear  the  pride  of  the  Greek. 
He     complains     of    Basil's 


trinity  of  priests  ministered 
to  a  trinity  of  Roman  gods. 
"The  three  Flam  ens  of  Ju- 
piter, of  Mars,  and  of  Quiri- 
nus,  were  considered  as  the 
peculiar  ministers  of  the 
three  most  powerful  deities, 
who  watched  over  the  fate 
of  Rome  and  of  the  uni- 
verse." Julian  had,  in  some 
measure,  restored  the  pagan 
service,  and  when  Gratian 
ascended  the  throne,  "  four 
hundred  and  twenty-four 
p)agan  temples"  in  Rome 
yet  sent  up  the  "fumes  of 
idolatrous  sacrifice."  Gib. 
iii.  114. 

The  same  laws  of  the  em- 
perors which  put  an  end  to 
paganism,  expatriated  and 
slew  the  primitive  Chris- 
tians, and  established  the 
Roman  Church.  This  was 
accomplished  by  the  impe- 
rial power. 

THE  EMPERORS. 

1.  Constantine  the  Great; 

2.  Constans; 

3.  Constantine; 

4.  Constantius ; 

5.  Julian  the  Apostate; 

6.  Jovian),  a  stranger; 

7.  Valentin! an  and 

8.  Valens,  his  brother; 

9.  Gratian  and  Maximus  > 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.       301 


pride.  And,  indeed,  Basil's 
own  friend,  Gregory  Nazian- 
zen,  tlionght  him  proud,  and 
haughty,  and  overbearing, 
as  it  appears  from  the  letters 
of  Gregory. 

"Kafinus  in  his  version  of 
Eusebius  added,  and  left  out, 
and  altered  what  he  thought 
fit,  and  inserted  a  long  ac- 
count of  the  miracles  of 
Gregory  Thaumaturgus,  of 
which  Eusebius  said  not  a 
word.  The  same  insupport- 
able license  he  took  in 
translating  Origen ;  so  that 
they  are  not  versions,  but 
perversions  of  the  originals. 
However  Rufinus  is  so  far 
honest,  as  to  own  that  he 
uses  such  liherties.  Jerome 
was  guilty  of  the  same  fault, 
and  they  have  nothing  to  re- 
proach each  other  with  on 
that  score."     Jor.  i.  432. 

"It  is  agreed  that  St.  Je- 
rome may  be  the  greatest 
saint  of  all  translators,  but 
that  he  is  not  the  most  ex- 
act. He  hath  taken  liber- 
ties which  the  laws  of  trans- 
lation will  not  admit,  and 
his  adversary  Rufinus  fails 
not  to  charge  him  with  it," 
etc.  Baillet,  Jug.  des  Savans, 

'•Rufinus  was  excommuni- 
cated by  Pope  Anastasius, 
as  an  Origenist.  He  was 
not  so  good  a  scholar,  but 
he  might  be  as  good  a  saint 
as  Jerome,'  for  any  thing 
that  we  know  to  the  contra- 
ry."    Jor.  i.  433. 

''A.  D.  395.  Arcadius  and 
Honorius  were  taught  to  be- 


Gratian  and  ValentinianK. 

"Between  the  years  325 
and  384  many  an  obscure 
victim  of  the  Arian  heresy 
must  have  perished  for  his 
opinions,  in  silence  and  ig- 
nominy."    Wad.  157. 

381.  Thkodosius  THE  Great, 
the  first  emperor  baptized 
in  the  Trinitarian  faith,  es- 
tablished the  Catholic  clergy 
in  the  empire,  raising  the 
secular  arm  against  all  oth- 
ers with  a  terrible  degree  of 
vengance.  From  this  time 
till  the  downfall  of  the  em- 
pire, the  Catholic  bishops 
governed  the  throne  of  the 
East.  (Gratian,  Maximus, 
the  Empress  of  Valentinian 
II.,  and  Eugenius,  the  pagan 
adventurer,  all  passed  away 
during  the  reign  of  Theodo- 
sius.)  He  left  two  sons, 
Arcadius,  aged  eighteen, 
reigned  in  the  East  and  was 
succeeded  in  408  by  his  son 
Theodosius  IL,  who  "  devout- 
ly worshiped  the  dead  and 
living  saints  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  (Gib.  iii.283.)  450. 
Theodosius  was  succeeded 
by  Marcion.  Afipar,  the 
great  general,  declined  the 
crown,  proflered  now  with 
the  condition  of  defending 
the  Nicene  Creed,  preferring 
faithfulness  to  Christ  before 
perishable  purple,   (iii.  392.) 


302 


■CHURCH    HISTORr. 


lieve  that  the  prosperity  of 
their  father  Theodosius,  and 
the  destruction  of  their  en- 
emy Rulinus,  were  the  ef- 
fects of  that  emperor's  pie- 
ty, that  is,  according  to  the 
language  of  those  days,  of 
his  exalting  the  orthodox, 
and  depressing  the  heretics. 
Therefore  they  confirmed  all 
that  their  father  had  done 
in  favor  of  the  church,  and 
made  many  n  e  w  laws 
against  heretics  and  schis- 
matics, against  the  Ari- 
ans,  Eunomians,  Luciferians, 
Macedonians,  etc.  The  Eu- 
nomians, who  carried  Arian- 
ism  to  the  greatest  length, 
were  deprived  of  the  power 
of  making  a  will,  or  of  re- 
ceiving a  legacy,  and  were 
excluded  from  all  employ- 
ments at  court."    Jor.  i.  341. 

"A.  D.  398.  Martinianus, 
a  hermit,  cast  himself  into 
the  sea,  to  avoid  the  compa- 
ny of  a  female;  and  w^as 
carried  safe  to  land,  by  two 
good-natured  dolphins." 

A.  D.  375.  Valens,  when 
the  Christian  Goths  were 
pressed  by  the  Pagan  Huns, 
permitted  them  to  share  his 
territory,  and  defend  iiis 
throne,  on  the  impolitic  pro- 
vision that  they  should  sur- 
render their  arms  to  the  Ro- 
mans, and  send  their  noblest 
youths  (as  hostages)  to  be 
educated  by  the  empire  in 
the  schools  of  Asia. 


Aspar  recommended  Leo, 
of  Thrace,  his  faithful  serv- 
ant, who  was  chosen,  and 
who  crowned  Arthemius, 
his  son-in-law,  emperor  of 
the  West.  In  the  West, 
Honorius  had  been  succeed- 
ed by  Valentinian  III.,  the 
last  prince  of  the  Theodo- 
sian  family.  Valentinian 
III.  is  said  to  have  abused 
the  wife  of  Maxim  us,  who 
caused  him  to  be  slain. 
Thus  ignobly  perished  the 
last  prince  of  the  house  of 
the  great  tyrant  Theodosius. 

Maximinus  succeeded  to 
the  throne,  and  in  turn, 
abused  Eudoxia,  the  Em- 
press of  Valentinian,  and 
she  out  of  revenge  in- 
vited Genseric,  the  great 
vandal  king  of  Africa,  to  in- 
vade Italy.  Genseric  seized 
Eudoxia  and  stripped  her  of 
her  jewels,  and  carried  her 
and  her  two  daughters  cap- 
tives to  Africa,  where  he 
gave  Eudocia,  the  eldest,  in 
marriage  to  Himeric,  his 
son.  Genseric  gathered  the 
wealth  of  Rome  and  returned 
to  Africa  laden  with  spoils. 
He  took  with  the  treasures 
of  the  Vatican,  the  golden 
candlestick  of  Jerusalenij 
captured    by  Titus,   which, 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRKTIAN    CHURCH. 


i03 


As  the  numerous  train  of 
the  children  of  distinguish- 
ed rank  passed  to  the  cities 
in  Asia  allotted  to  them, 
the  people  were  astonished 
at  their  robust  and  martial 
bearing,  and  the  splendor 
of  their  apparel;  their  fine 
linen  garments,  and  fringed 
carpets ;  and  a  nation  of 
emigrants  was  able  to  pre- 
serve their  arms  through  the 
duplicity  or  avarice  of  the 
Roman  officers;  who  after- 
ward endeavored  to  oppress 
and  wrong  them,  by  exorbi- 
tant taxes,  and  by  shutting 
them  out  from  the  markets. 
Finally  a  Roman  army  was 
sent  to  turn  back  the  inflow- 
ing tide  of  migration,  and 
restrain  the  liberty  of  the 
first  arrivals.  The  chiefs 
were  united  in  a  festival, 
while  a  soldier  and  a  Goth 
quarreled.  Blood  was  shed. 
The  Roman  general  received 
secret  word  of  the  rupture. 
The  Gothic  chief  calmly 
said  a  trifling  dispute  might 
require  his  presence  with- 
out, and  drawing  his  sword 
he  passed  with  his  compan- 
ions from  the  Roman  palace, 
to  lead  their  people  to  a  vic- 
tory which  ended  at  once 
the   distress   of    the    Goths 


after  four  hundred  years, 
was  transported  to  Africa. 
The  bishop  of  Carthage  im- 
mortalized his  charity  by 
liis  care  for  the  prisoners. 
Gib.  iii.  373.  Maximinus 
was  soon  after  slain,  and  Av- 
itus,  his  general,  ascended 
the  throne  of  the  West  by 
the  aid  of  Theodoric  the 
Great,  the  king  of  the  Goths, 
who  reigned  at  Tholouse, 
and  commanded  the  Franks. 
Avitus,  driven  from  Rome, 
perished,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Majorian. 

457.  Majorian  visited  the 
court  of  Genseric,  in  Africa, 
in  the  disguise  of  an  ambas- 
sador. Majorian  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Severus,  and  he 
by  Arthemius,  who  was 
crowned  Emperor  of  the 
West,  as  before  stated,  by 
Leo,  Emperor  of  the  East. 

472.  Arthemius  was  suc- 
ceeded in  quick  succession 
by  Olybrius,  Glycerins,  and 
Agustulus,  the  last  Roman 
emperor  in  the  West.  Agus- 
tulus resigned  in  favor  of 
Odoacer,  the  Goth  and  the 
King  of  Italy.  In  twenty 
years  from  the  death  of  Yal- 
entinian,  nine  emperors  had 
X)assed  away. 

490.     Agustulus,  the  last 


304 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


and  the  security  of  the  Ro- 
mans; but  was  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  long  series  of  bat- 
tles. On  a  stated  day,  the 
treacherous  Romans  an- 
nounced that  the  noble 
youths  should  assemble  in 
the  cities  of  the  East  to  re- 
ceive presents  of  land  and 
money.  The  unarmed  Goths 
were  no  sooner  collected, 
than  in  every  city,  at  a 
given  signal,  the  slaughter 
commenced  which  rid  the 
empire  of  a  generation  of 
warriors,  and  stained  the 
empire  with  treachery.  But 
the  Roman  arms  were  not 
successful  with  the  fathers 
though  the  sons  were  slain. 
Yalens  fell,  and  the  Goths 
were  still  victorious.  Gra- 
tian  then  bestowed  the  pur- 
ple  upon  Theodosius,  a 
young  commander,  aged 
thirty-three,  educated,  skill- 
ful, active  and  successful, 
and  introduced  to  the  army 
a  monarch  and  a  master. 
But  Theodosius  preferred 
his  safety  to  any  risk  of 
losing  at  once  his  crown 
and  his  life. 

The  fall  of  Valens,  and  the 
victory  at  Iladrianople,  and 
the  slaughter  of  40,000  Ro- 
mans, was    never    avenged. 


emperor  of  Rome,  enjoyed 
an  annual  allowance  from 
the  Gothic  King  Odoacer 
the  Arian,  who,  after  four- 
teen years,  was  succeeded 
by  the  good  and  great  The- 
odoric,  under  whose  reign 
the  Catholics  enjoyed  what 
they  never  granted — full 
toleration.  "  While  Italy 
revived  and  flourished  un- 
der the  government  of  a 
Gothic  king  (Theodoric), 
who  might  have  deserved  a 
statue  among  the  best  and 
bravest  of  the  ancient  Ro- 
mans" (Gib.  iv.  13),  w^e 
return  to  the  East.  After 
the  death  of  Leo,  Leo  II.,  the 
infant  son  of  his  daughter 
Ariadne,  was  proclaimed, 
but  his  early  death  exalted 
his  father,  Zeno,  to  the 
throne,  at  whose  death  Ar- 
iadne, the  daughter,  moth- 
er, and  wife,  of  emperors, 
gave  her  hand  and  the 
crown  to  her  servant  Anas- 
tasius.  Here  we  bid  fare- 
well to  Ariadne,  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  Emperor  Leo  I., 
the  mother  of  Leo  II.,  the 
wafe  of  the  Emperor  Zeno, 
and  the  wife  of  the  Emperor 
Anastasius. 

The    "Catholic"    Church 
now  existed  as  an  ecclesiasti- 


KOMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      305 


Theodosins  retired  to  a 
place  of  safety,  from  which 
he  directed  his  lieutenants 
and  preserved  the  empire. 
When  the  popular  Briton, 
Maximus,  slew  Gratian,  The- 
odosins consented  to  wear 
the  purple  with  him,  and 
secretly  resolved  upon  bap- 
tism and  revenge. 

Gibbon  says:  Theodo- 
sias  was  the  first  of  all  the 
emperors  baptized  in  the 
true  faith  of  the  Trinity.  As 
he  ascended  from  the  holy 
font,  he  dictated  a  solemn 
edict.  "It  is  our  pleasure 
(such  is  the  imperial  style), 
til  at  all  the  nations  which 
are  governed  by  our  clem- 
ency and  moderation,  should 
steadfastly  adhere  to  the  re- 
ligion which  was  taught  by 
St.  Peter  to  the  Romans; 
which  faithful  tradition  has 
preserved,  and  wdiich  is  now 
professed  by  the  Pontiff  Da- 
masus,  and  by  Peter  the 
bishop  of  Alexandria,  a  man 
of  apostolical  holiness.  Ac- 
cording to  the  discipline  of 
the  apostles,  and  the  doc- 
trine of  the  gospel,  let  us 
believe  in  the  sole  Deity  of 
the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  under  an  equal 
Majesty,  and  a  pious  Trinity, 
We  authorize  the  followers 
ofMhis  doctrine  to  assume 
the  name  of  Calholic  Chris- 
tians, and  as  we  judge  that 
all  others  are  extravagant 
madmen,  we  brand  them 
20 


cal  hierarchy,  or  organized 
priesthood;  but  so  slowly 
had  they  progressed  in  pros- 
elyting the  people  that  the 
multitudes  were  still  op- 
posed to  them.  There  was 
not  one  monarch  in  the 
world  at  this  time  holding 
the  Catholic  faith.  We 
quote  from  the  historian. 

Gilhon  says:  "Instead  of 
the  smooth  applause,  which 
Christian  kings  are  accus- 
tomed to  expect  from  their 
loyal  prelates,  the  orthodox 
bishops  and  their  clergy 
were  in  a  state  of  opposition 
to  the  x\rian  courts ;  and 
their  indiscreet  opposition 
frequently  became  criminal, 
and  might  sometimes  be 
dangerous.  The  pulpit,  that 
safe  and  sacred  organ  of  se- 
dition, resounded  with  the 
name  of  Pharaoh  and  Hol- 
ofernes ;  the  public  discon- 
tent was  inflamed  by  the 
hope  or  promise  of  a  glori- 
ous deliverance;  and  the  se- 
ditious saints  were  tempted 
to  promote  the  accomplish- 
ment of  their  own  pre- 
dictions. Notwithstanding 
these  provocations,  the  Cath- 
olics of  Gaul,  Spain,  and 
Italy,  enjoyed,  under  the 
reign  of  the  Arians,  the  free 
and  peaceful  exercise  of 
their  religion."     Gib.  iii.  438.- 

And  the  isolate  persecu- 
tion charged  on  Ilunneric 
was  probably  equally  shared 


806 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


"with  the  infamous  name  of 
heretics,  and  declare  that 
their  conventicles  shall  no 
longer  usurp  the  respecta- 
ble name  of  churches.  Be- 
sides the  condemnation  of 
divine  justice,  they  must 
expect  to  suffer  the  severe 
penalties  which  our  author- 
ity, guided  by  heavenly  wis- 
dom, shall  think  proper  to 
inflict  upon  them." 

Constantinople  was  one  of 
the  principal  cities  where  the 
stronghold  of  the  primitive 
faith  had  bid  defiance  to  the 
innovations  of  idolatry.  Tlie 
language  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment was  the  native  tongue 
of  the  people.  The  Scrip- 
tures were  their  study  and 
delight.  "This  city,"  said 
one,  who  fretted  at  their  in- 
dependence, "is  full  of  me- 
■chanics  and  slaves,  who  are 
all  of  them  profound  theolo- 
gians, and  preach  in  the 
shops  and  in  the  streets.  If 
you  desire  a  man  to  change 
a  piece  of  silver,  he  informs 
you  wherein  the  Son  differs 
from  the  Father  ;  and  if  you 
ask  the  price  of  a  loaf,  you 
are  told,  by  way  of  reply, 
that  the  Son  is  inferior  to  the 
Father ;  and  if  you  inquire 
whether  the  bath  is  ready, 
the  answer  is  that  the  Son 
Was  made  out  of  nothing." 


by  Christians  and  Catholics, 
as  the  historian  records  that 
"  even  the  Arian  patriarch 
was  burnt  alive  in  the  midst 
of  Carthage."     Gib.  iii.  439. 

We  by  no  means  claim 
those  monarchs  as  exem- 
plary Christians.  Some 
were  Arians  in  faith,  Cath- 
olics in  spirit,  and  sinners  in 
practice.  Still  most  of  them, 
like  Theodoric,  were  pious, 
exemplary,  just  and  charit- 
able, setting  an  example  of 
royal  generosity  and  virtue 
without  parallel  in  Catholic 
princes.  The  absence  of 
Catholics  from  any  throne 
proves  that  the  masses  of 
the  (christian  world,  nations, 
princes,  bishops,  priests,  and 
peasants,  yet  rejected  the 
Romanistic  changes  which 
then  formed  the  superstruct- 
ure of  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  eventually  established 
their  iron  tyranny  over  the 
Christian  world. 

A.  D.  578.  Anastasius 
was  succeeded  by  Justin,  a 
Dacian  soldier,  who,  like  the 
great  Theodoric.  now  reign- 
ing in  Italy,  could  neither 
read  nor  write.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  nephew,  Jus- 
tinian the  Great,  a  second 
Theodosius,  who  employed 
all  the  engines  of  power  and 


ROMAN  CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.      307 


Gibbon  says:  "The  her- 
etics, of  various  denomina- 
tions, subsisted  in  peace  un- 
der the  protection  of  the 
Arians  of  Constantinople. 
During  the  partial  reigns  of 
Constantius  and  Valens,  the 
feeble  remnant  of  the  IIo- 
moousions  was  deprived  of 
the  public  and  private  exer- 
cise of  their  religion,  and  it 
has  been  observed  in  pathet- 
ic language,  that  the  scat- 
tered flock  was  left  without 
a  shepherd,  to  wander  on 
the  mountains,  or  to  be  de- 
voured by  rapacious  wolves. 
But  as  their  zeal,  instead  of 
being  subdued,  derived 
strength  and  vigor  from  op- 
pression, they  seized  the 
first  moments  of  freedom 
acquired  by  the  death  of 
Valens,  to  form  themselves 
into  a  regular  congregation. 
Two  natives  of  Cappadocia, 
Basil  and  Gregory  Nazianzan 
were  distinguished  above 
all  their  contemporaries, 
by  the  rare  union  of  profane 
eloquence  and  orthodox  pi- 
ety. These  orators,  who 
might  sometimes  be  com- 
pared, by  themselves,  and 
by  the  public,  to  the  most 
celebrated  of  the  ancient 
Greeks,  were  united  b  y 
the  ties  of  the  strictest 
friendship.  But  the  exalta- 
tion of  Basil,  from  a  private 
life  to  the  throne  of  Cgesa- 
rea,  discovered  to  the  world, 
and  perhaps  to  himself,  the 
pride  of  his  character;  and 
the  first  favor  which  he  con- 


cruelty  to  exterminate  her* 
etics,  and  force  all  to  unite 
with  the  Roman  Church. 

A.  D.  520.  Justinian 
reigned  over  sixty-four  prov- 
inces, and  nine  hundred  and 
thirty-five  cities.  He  was 
born  of  barbarian  parents, 
in  Dacia.  Placed  upon  the 
throne  by  Justin,  his  illiter- 
ate uncle,  he  "  trod  the 
narrow  path  of  inflexible  or* 
thodoxy."  (Gib.  iii.  44-60.) 
He  was  blessed  with  the 
services  of  Belisarius,  one  of 
the  greatest  warriors  the 
world  has  ever  known,  who 
was  the  minister  of  his 
wrath  to  all  persons  or  na- 
tions who  had  the  temerity 
to  reject  the  Roman  relig- 
ion. With  the  relation  of 
the  lewdness  of  Theodora, 
the  wife  of  Justinian,  and 
Antonia,  the  wife  of  Belis- 
arius, exceeding  that  of  all 
other  historical  women,  I 
refer  the  reader  to  other  his- 
tories. They  did  their  part 
as  pious  Catholics,  as  they 
were,  in  shaping  the  religion 
of  the  empire  and  the  world. 

527.  Jortin  says  Justinian 
wrote  some  tracts  and  pub- 
lished many  edicts  relating 
to  religion,  but  we  must  not 
imagine  that  they  were  his 
own  composition,    iii.  4. 


308 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


descended  to  bestow  on  his 
friend    was     received,    and 
perhaps  intended,  as  a  cruel 
insult.     Instead  of  employ- 
ing the  superior  talents  of 
Gregory  in  some  useful  and 
conspicuous     station,     the 
haughty     prelate     selected 
among    the    fifty  bishoprics 
of    his    extensive    province, 
the  wretched  village  of  Sa- 
sima;  without    water,  with- 
out verdure,  without  society, 
situate   in    the  junction   of 
three     highways,    and    fre- 
quented only  iDy  the  inces- 
sant   passage    of    rude    and 
clamorous  wagoners."     (The 
reader  will    remember  that 
these  unbearable  hardships 
worked   up  by  the    pen    of 
the    heretic-hating   Gibbon, 
were    among    the    greatest 
hardships  of  the  Trinitarian 
bishops,  under  the  Semiari- 
an    government.     There    is 
really   no   proof  of  any   in- 
tended  persecution   of    the 
Trinitarian     party,      except 
the  rejection    of  them   from 
usurped  authority  and  place 
and  power.)     "Gregory  sub- 
mitted   with    reluctance    to 
this  humiliating  exile;  and 
was  ordained  bishop  of  Sasi- 
ma;    but   he  solemnly  pro- 
tests that  he  never  consum- 
mated his  spiritual  marriage 
with    the    disgusting    bride. 
He  afterward  consented   to 
undertake    the    government 
of  his  native  church  of  Naz- 
ianzan,  of  which  his  father 
had  been  bishop  above    for- 
ty-five  years."      (For  those 


"  Justinian  published  cruel 
edicts  to  compel  dissenters 
of  all  kinds  to  be  of  his  re- 
ligion, and  was  a  violent  per- 
secutor of  Pagans,  Samari- 
tans, Arians,  Astrologers, 
and  all  men  called  heretics, 
partly  through  bind  zeal, 
and  partly  through  covetous- 
ness  that  he  might  seize 
upon  their  effects.''  Jor.  iii. 
5. 

The  property  of  heretics 
enriched  the  throne.  Un- 
der the  protection  of  the 
Germans,  "the  Church  of 
Arians  at  Constantinople 
had  braved  the  severity  of 
the  laws ;  their  clergy 
equaled  the  wealth  of  the 
senate,  and  the  gold  and  sil- 
ver which  were  seized  by 
the  rapacious  hand  of  Jus- 
tinian, might  perhaps  be 
claimed  as  the  spoil  of  the 
provinces,  and  the  trophies 
of  the  barbarians."  Gib.  iv. 
416. 

It  is  related  in  the  "De- 
cline and  Fall "  that  a  Cath- 
olic bishop  named  Nestorius 
cried  out,  "Give  me,  O  Ca9 
sar,  the  earth  purged  of  her 
etics,  and  I  will  give  you  ir 
exchange  the  kingdom  ol 
heaven.  Exterminate  with 
me  the  heretics,  and  I  will 
exterminate  the  Persians." 
"He   discovered,   surprised, 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.        309 


early  bishops  married  and 
were  fathers  of  other  bish- 
ops; and  forty-five  years 
proves  the  absence  of  any 
serious  persecution.)  "But 
as  he  was  conscious  that  he 
deserved  another  audience, 
and  another  theater,  he  ac- 
cepted, with  no  unworthy 
ambition,  the  honorable  in- 
vitation which  was  address- 
ed to  him  from  the  orthodox 
party  (Catholic  party)  of 
Constantinople.  On  his  ar- 
rival at  the  capital,  he  was 
entertained  in  the  house  of 
a  pious  and  charitable  kins- 
man ;  the  most  spacious 
room  was  consecrated  to  the 
use  of  religious  worship, 
and  the  name  of  Anastasia 
was  chosen,  to  express  the 
resurrection  of  the  Nicene 
faith.  This  private  conven- 
ticle was  afterward  convert- 
ed into  a  magnificent  church  ; 
and  the  credulity  of  the  suc- 
ceeding age  was  prepared  to 
believe  the  miracles  and  vis- 
ions which  attested  the  pres- 
ence and  protection  of  tlie 
Mother  of  God.  The  pulpit 
of  Anastasia  was  the  scene 
of  the  labors  and  triumphs 
of  Gregory  Nazianzen,  and 
in  the  space  of  two  years  he 
experienced  all  the  spiritual 
adventures  which  constitute 
the  prosperous  or  adverse 
fortunes  of  a  missionary. 
The  Arians  (Christians)  who 
were  provoked  by  the  bold- 
ness of  his  enterprise  "  (or 
by  the  abuse  of  his  invect- 
ives), "  represented  his  doc 


and  attacked  a  secret  con 
venticle  of  Arians ;  they  pre- 
ferred death  to  submission. 
The  flames  that  were  kin- 
dled in  despair  spread  to 
the  neighboring  houses,  and 
(several  hundred  men,  wo- 
men, and  cliildren  were  con- 
sumed. O  that  was  so  com- 
mon as  to  be  worthy  of  no 
note)  the  triumph  of  Nes- 
torius  was  clouded  by  the 
name  of  incendiary."  (Gib. 
iv.  395.)  What  a  horrible 
religion  was  this  that  so 
many  died  to  avoid. 

MILNER'S  CHARACTER  OF  JUSTIN- 
IAN. 

"He  was  in  religion  the 
slave  of  superstition  ;  in  mo- 
rality, the  slave  of  avarice. 
He  encouraged  the  vilest 
characters  in  their  detesta- 
ble and  infamous  calumnies, 
in  order  to  partake  of  their 
gains.  Dissensions,  schisms, 
forced  conversions  attended 
with  cruelties,  which  alien- 
ated men's  minds  still  more 
from  godliness,  the  growth 
of  superstition  and  formal- 
ity, the  real  declension  of 
real  internal  godliness — the 
increase  of  ignorance  and 
wickedness  were  the  conse- 
quences of  his  schemes." 
"•He  prescribed  what  minis- 
ters and  laity  should  believe, 
and  was  himself  in  efl'ect  the 
pope  as  well  as  the  emperor 


SIO 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


trines,  as  if  he  liad  preached 
three  distinct  and  equal  De- 
ities." 

Indeed  Gibbon  on  the 
next  page,  viz :  vol.  iii,  p.  78, 
confesses,  under  the  note  Le 
Clerc,  that  "  Gregory  him- 
self was  almost  a  Tritheist ; 
and  his  monarchy  of  heaven 
resembles  a  well-regulated 
aristocracy." 

"The  devout  populace  was 
excited  to  suppress  by  vio- 
lence and  tumult  the  irreg- 
ular assemblies  of  the  Atha- 
nasian  heretics.  From  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Sophia, 
there  issued  a  motley  croAvd 
*  of  common  beggars,  who 
had  forfeited  their  claim  to 
pity  ;  of  monks  who  had  the 
appearance  of  goats  or  sa- 
tyrs ;  and  of  women  more 
terrible  than  so  many  Jeze- 
bels.' The  doors  of  Anasta- 
tia  were  broken  open;  much 
mischief  was  perpetrated, 
or  attempted,  with  sticks, 
stones,  and  firebrands;  and 
as  a  man  lost  his  life  in  the 
affray,  Gregory,  who  was 
summoned  the  next  morning 
before  the  magistrate,  had 
the  satisfaction  of  supposing 
that  he  publicly  confessed 
the  name  of  Christ.  After 
he  was  delivered  from  the 
danger  of  a  foreign  enemy, 
his  infant  church  was  dis- 
graced and  distracted  by  in- 
testine faction.  The  Catho- 
lics of  Constantinople  were 
animated  with  joyful  confi- 


of  the  Roman  world.  Yet, 
wretched  being!  he  seems 
not  to  have  known  any  one 
thing  in  religion,  in  a  right 
manner,"  "yet  was  this  vain 
emperor  made  use  of  by  Di- 
vine Providence  as  a  shield 
to  support  external  Christi- 
anity."    Milner,  i.  492. 

A  curious  altar  was  pre- 
sented to  the  church  of  St. 
Sophia,  by  Justinian  and 
Theodora,  his  wife,  composed 
of  every  material  which 
could  be  procured.  Gold 
and  silver,  every  kind  of 
precious  stone,  wood,  and 
metals,  blended  together, 
and  adorned  with  an  inscrip- 
tion in  which  the  donors 
made  an  offering  of  it  to 
Christ,  and  entreated  him 
that  they,  together  with  the 
empire,  might  be  preserved 
in  the  orthodox  faith. 

Justinian  was  a  compound 
of  strange  medleys.  He  was 
chaste,  and  married  an  infa- 
mous prostitute  ;  he  was  re- 
ligious and  cruel ;  he  was 
industrious  and  persevering; 
he  published  wise  laws  and 
cruel  edicts;  he  loved 
monks,  built  churches,  en- 
dowed monasteries,  patron- 
ized Catholics,  persecuted 
Christians,  wrote  tracts,  ar- 
gued theology,  closed  the 
schools  of  philosophy,  con- 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      311 


dence  by  the  baptism  and 
edict  of  Theodosius ;  and 
they  impatiently  waited  the 
effects  of  his  gracious  prom- 
ise." 

FALL    OF    CONSTANTINOPLE. 

''Their  hopes  were  speedily 
accomplished,  and  the  em- 
peror, as  soon  as  he  had  fin- 
ished the  operations  of  a 
campaign,  made  his  public 
entry  into  the  capital  at  the 

HEAD    OF    A    VICTORIOUS    ARMY. 

The  next  day  after  his  arri- 
val, he  summoned  Damophi- 
lus,  the  bishop,  to  his  pres- 
ence, and  offered  that  Arian 
(Christian)  prelate  the  hard 
alternative  of  subscribing 
the  Nicene  Creed,  or  of  in- 
stantly resigning  to  the  or- 
thodox (Catholic)  believers, 
the  use  and  the  possession  of 
the  Ejnscoj^al  Palace^  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Sophia,  and 
all  the  (100)  churches  of 
Constantinople.  Ihe  zeal 
of  Damophilus,  which  in  a 
Catholic  saint  would  have 
been  justly  applauded,  em- 
braced, without  hesitation, 
a  life  of  poverty  and  exile; 
and  his  removal  was  imme- 
diately followed  by  the  pu- 
rilication  of  the  imperial 
city."  (Thatis,  some  seven- 
ty-five bitter  Catholics  puri- 
fied the  city  of  Constanti- 
nople.) "  The  Arians  (Chris- 
tians) might  complain,  with 
some  appearance  of  justice, 
that  an  inconsiderable  con- 
gregation of  sectaries  should 


quered  by  his  generals  all 
the  surrounding  kingdoms, 
sold  the  governments  of  the 
provinces  for  gold,  enriched 
himself  with  the  property  of 
all  "heretics" — that  is  non- 
Catholics,  and  gave  all  their 
churches  to  the  Catholics; 
published  edicts  in  538  com- 
pelling all  to  join  the  Cath- 
olic Church  in  ninety  days 
or  leave  the  emi)ire,  and 
confiscated  all  their  goods. 
He  twice  rebuilt  the  church 
of  St.  Sophia ;  lived  in  a  vor- 
tex of  injustice;  increased 
cruelty,  hypocrisy,  suffer- 
ing, and  sorrow;  acted  as 
pope,  prescribing  the  faith 
of  all ;  slaughtered  thousands 
to  build  up  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  died  a  "her- 
etic." 

Neander  says:  "Christi- 
anity having,  through  the 
zealous  efforts  of  Ulphilas, 
found  a  wide  door  of  en- 
trance among  the  Goths,  the 
fury  of  the  Pagans  was  ex- 
cited against  it  the  more ; 
and  perhaps  the  ruler  of  the 
Goths,  who  is  called  a  vio- 
lent enemy  of  Christianity 
in  this  period,  was  the  same 
Athanaric  who  still  later  ap- 
pears as  a  persecutor  of  the 
Christians.  The  persecution 
proves  how  deeply  Christi- 
anity had  struck  root  in  the 
hearts    of    this   people,   for 


312 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


usurp  the  Jinndred  chxtrclies^ 
which  they  were  insufficient 
to  fill;  whilst  the  far  great- 
er part  of  the  people  were 
cruelly  excluded  from  every 
place  of  religious  worship. 
Theodosius  was  still  inexor- 
able" (all  Catholics  are); 
"but,  as  the  angels  who  pro- 
tected the  Catholic  cause 
were  only  visible  to  the 
eyes  of  faith,  he  prudently 
reinforced  those  heavenly 
legions  with  the  more  ef- 
fectual aid  of  temporal  and 
carnal  weapons;  and  the 
church  of  St.  Sophia  was  oc- 
cupied by  a  large  body  of 
the  Imperial  Guards.  If  the 
mind  of  Gregory  was  sus- 
ceptible of  pride,  he  must 
have  felt  a  very  lively  satis- 
faction when  the  emperor 
conducted  him  through  the 
streets  in  solemn  triumph; 
and  with  his  own  hand  re- 
spectfully placed  him  on  the 
archiepiscopal  throne  of  Con- 
stantinople. But  the  saint, 
who  had  not  subdued  the 
imperfections  of  human  vir- 
tue, was  deeply  alfected  by 
the  mortifying  consideration 
that  his  entrance  into  the 
fold  was  that  of  a  wolf  rath- 
er than  of  a  shepherd;  that 
the  glittering  arms  which 
surrounded  his  person  were 
necessary  for  his  safety  ;  and 
that  he  alone  was  the  object 
of  the  imprecations  of  a 
great  party,  whom,  as  men 
and  as  citizens,  it  was  not 
possible  for  him  to  despise. 
He  beheld  the  innumerable 


multitudes  of  men  and  wo- 
men suifered  as  martyrs  ;  so 
that,  as  the  Bishop  Auxen- 
tius,  who  reports  this  fact, 
expresses  it,  the  persecutors 
themselves  were  abashed, 
while  those  who  suffered  the 
persecution  obtained  the 
crown.  By  reason  of  this 
persecution,  Ulphilas,  hav- 
ing now  administered  his 
episcopal  office  seven  years, 
was  induced,  with  a  large 
number  of  his  countrymen, 
in  the  year  355,  to  cross  over 
the  Danube  and  seek  after 
a  place  of  refuge  within  the 
Roman  Empire. 

By  the  negotiations  of  Ul- 
philas, for  whom  the  Emper- 
or Constantius  entertained  a 
high  respect,  places  for  set- 
tlement were  provided  for 
these  Goths  in  Moesia.  Men 
were  fond  of  comparing  Ul- 
philas with  Moses,  since,  un- 
der his  guidance,  the  Goths 
had  accomplished  this  ex- 
odus from  the  midst  of  hea- 
thens, and  delivered  from 
the  wrath  of  that  other  Phar- 
aoh." 

PhiJoslorgius  says :  "This 
expedition  did  not  take 
place  in  the  reign  of  Valens, 
but  of  Constantine"  (which 
I  think  more  probable,  as 
the  conversion  of  the  Goths 
dates  from  A.  D.  262,  whom 
he  says  called  Ulphilas  6  £<^ 
rjii.(i)v  Mo)a7]g,  the  Moses  of  oui 
time),  ''by  whom  they  had 
been  conducted  to  a  land 
where  they  could  enjoy  theii 
religion     securely     without 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.       3]  3 


multitude  of  either  sex,  and 
of  every  age,  who  crowded 
the  streets,  the  windows, 
and  the  roofs;  he  heard  the 
tumultuous  voice  of  rage, 
griei',  astonishment,  and  de- 
spair; and  Gregory  fairly 
confessed,  that  on  the  mem- 
orable day  of  his  installation, 
the  capital  of  the  East  wore 
the  appearance  of  a  city 
taken  by  storm,  and  in  the 
hands  of  a  barbarian  con- 
queror. About  six  weeks 
afterward  (the  valiant)  The- 
odosius  declared  his  resolu- 
tion of  expelling  from  all 
the  churches  of  his  domin- 
ions the  bishops  and  their 
clergy  who  should  obstinate- 
ly refuse  to  believe,  or  at 
least  to  profess,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Council  of  Nice. 
His  lieutenant.  Sapor,  was 
armed  with  the  ample  pow- 
er of — 

I.     A  general  law. 
II.     A  special  commission  ; 
and, 

III.  A  military  force. 
And  his  ecclesiastical  rev- 
olution was  conducted  with 
so  much  discretion  and  vig- 
or, that  the  religion  of  the 
emperor  was  established 
without  tumult  or  bloodshed 
in  all  t/ie  provinces  of  the 
EastP  (The  judgment  day 
will  reveal  the  contrary.) 
"The  writings  of  the  Arians, 
if  they  had  been  permitted 
to  exist,  would  perhaps  con« 
tain  the  lamentahle  story  of 
the  persecution  which  ajjiict- 
ed    the    church    under    the 


disturbance.  By  this  suc- 
cessful enterprise,  he  could 
not  fail  to  have  won  upon 
the  confidence  of  his  people. 
He  preached  with  great  fer- 
vor; and  to  this  end  had 
made  himself  master  of  the 
Gothic,  Greek,  and  Latin 
languages.  In  this  first 
bishop  from  the  midst  of  the 
German  race,  we  see  thus 
early  a  representative  of 
that  tendency,  which  is  said 
always  to  have  distinguished 
the  German  people,  and  by 
virtue  of  which  the  greatest 
revolution  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  church  was 
brought  about — love  for  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  leading  to 
the  eflbrt  to  make  it  acces- 
sible to  the  people.  To  this 
end,  he  invented  for  the 
Goths  an  alphabet,  and  made 
use  of  it  to  give  them  a 
translation  of  the  Bible  in 
their  own  tongne.  He  is 
said  to  have  composed  the- 
ological and  devotional 
tracts  in  all  the  three  lan- 
guages above  mentioned. 

"It  is  unknown  whether 
all  the  Christians  among  tiie 
Goths  emigrated  with  Ul phi- 
las,  or  whether  many  still 
remained  behind,  and  con- 
tinued to  labor  for  the  spread 
of  Christianity.  The  seed 
sown  by  him  produced  an  af- 
ter-harvest in  various  ways; 
but  Christianity  was  also  in- 
troduced among  the  Goths 
from  other  quarters,  as  in- 
deed it  might  have  been  by 
those   bishops    who  resided 


314 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


reig7i  of  TJieoclosius^  and  the 
sufferings  of  their  holy  con- 
fessors might  claim  the  pity 
of  the  disinterested  reader. 

A.  D.  381.  The  General 
Council  of  Constantinople. 
"A  council  of  gladiators 
would  have  been  as  vener- 
able," says  Jortin.  The  Ro- 
man army  now  being  ap- 
pointed to  subdue  the  rest 
of  the  empire  to  the  new  re- 
ligion, the  following  will 
show  the  work  and  its  pro- 
gress. Without  enumera- 
ting the  native  people  of 
Greece,  Italy,  and  Asia 
about  one-third  of  whose 
ministers  had  now  adopted 
the  new  faith,  the  following 
were  opposed  to  it,  viz : — 
The  German  nations  called 
Goths,  Vandals,  Alani,  Bur- 
gundians,  Lombards,  Bavari- 
ans, Normans,  Suevi,  the 
Britons,  Welsh,  and  the 
countries  of  Africa,  Spain, 
France,  Germany,  and  oth- 
ers. The  dates  when  the 
new  faith  began  permanent- 
ly to  supplant  the  old  relig- 
ion, were  as  follows : 

383.   Constantinople      b  y 
Theodosius. 

496.  France  by  Clovis  and 
Clotilda. 

499.  Burgundy    by   Sigis- 
mond. 


in  the  adjacent  provinces  of 
the  Roman  Empire.  One 
of  these,  Ascholius,  bishop 
of  Thessalonica,  we  find  af- 
terward in  intimate  corre- 
spondence with  the  church 
among  the  Goths  who  dwelt 
beyond  the  empire  of  the 
Romans.  But  the  fresh 
spread  of  Christianity  pro- 
voked once  more  a  violent 
persecution  from  its  old  en- 
emy, Athanaric.  This  took 
place  in  the  year  370,  and 
onward.  Among  the  Gothic 
Christians  of  this  time,  we 
find  men  possessed  of  an  ar- 
dent zeal,  which  led  many 
of  them  to  encounter  mar- 
tyrdom. Greatly  d  i  s  t  i  n- 
guished  among  these  was  Sa- 
bas,  of  whose  history  we  have 
a  very  particular  account 
from  the  church  to  which  he 
belonged.  This  report  is, 
moreover,  an  important  one, 
as  it  gives  a  very  precise 
statement  of  the  character 
of  the  persecution  against 
the  Christians  among  the 
Goths.  It  is  plain  from  this 
narrative,  that  it  was  not  so 
much  the  people  who  were 
inflamed  with  fanaticism 
against  Christianity,  as  the 
prince  and  chief  men,  who, 
influenced  perhaps  by  polit- 
ical rather  than  religious 
motives,  were  seelving  to 
sup[)ress  a  foreign  religion. 

'^  Sabas  was  a  pious  lay- 
man, of  Gothic  descent,  who 
from  his  early  childhood, 
seems  to  have  had  no  other 
object  before  him  than  to  be 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.       315 


530.  Africa  by  Justinian. 

587.  Spain  by  Recared. 

596.  England  by  Austin. 

And  other  nations  from 
time  to  time. 

The  Romans  had  made 
several  ineffectual  attempts 
to  establish  the  Nicene 
Creed,  but  the  masses  of 
the  people,  the  bishops  and 
the  clergy,  were  so  strongly 
influenced  by  the  old  doc- 
trine of  the  primitive  church, 
called  Arianism  as  to  make 
the  second  person  in  the 
Trinity  a  begotten  God. 

They  saw  that  of  three 
equals  none  could  be  su- 
preme. A  God  with  two 
equals  is  no  God  at  all. 
Three  equals  can  neither  of 
them  be  the  Most  High 
God. 

THE  TRINITARIAN  EMPEROR. 

Theodosius,  the  victorious 
general,  now  baptised  un- 
to the  Trinity;  announced 
himself  as  the  champion  of 
the  Roman  Creed,  and  drew 
the  sword  of  the  empire; 
the  end  of  argument,  and  of 
controversy.  He  appointed 
agents  and  armies  to  estab- 
lish the  new  form  of  wor- 
ship ;  so  that  the  Roman 
Church  was  about  to  free  it- 


a  devout  Christian.  He  got 
himself  enrolled  among  the 
regularly-appointed  church- 
singers,  and  in  this  vocation 
discharged  his  duty  with 
great  diligence  and  care. 
He  led  a  rigidly  abstemious 
life ;  he  was  a  bold  and  de- 
cided witness  for  the  truth 
and  against  idolatry,  but 
without  unnecessarily  ob- 
truding himself  into  notice. 
His  zeal  for  the  faith  had  al- 
ready exposed  him  to  many 
dangers.  When  the  chief 
men  among  the  Goths  first 
began  to  persecute  Christi- 
anity, they  commanded  the 
Christians,  as  had  been  done 
in  the  first  centuries,  to 
prove  their  abjuration  of  the 
faith  by  partaking  of  the 
meat  ofiered  in  sacrifices. 
Now,  tlie  pagans  of  the  vil- 
lage Avhere  Sabas  lived,  were 
for  resorting  to  an  artifice, 
in  order  to  deceive  the  pa- 
gan authorities  and  save  the 
Christians,  who  were  their 
neighbors.  Instead  of  meat 
which  had  been  actually  of- 
fered in  sacrifice,  they  pro- 
posed to  set  before  them,  on 
the  day  of  trial,  other  meat 
which  they  pretended  was 
such,  of  which  the  Christians 
might  partake  without  scru- 
ple, wliile  the  magistrates 
supposed  the  terms  of  the 
law  had  been  complied  with. 
But  Sabas  could  not  consent 
to  this  decejjtion,  and  point- 
ed out  the  wrong  of  it  to  his 
fellow-believers.  The  pa- 
gans, therefore,   drove   him 


316 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


self  of  its  old  faith  of  Arian- 
ism.  Theodosius  thought  fit 
to  call  a  council   to  revise 
and   prepare  the   creed  for 
the  new  emergency.     Four 
hundred  bishops  had  assem- 
bled in  the  Council  at  Rim- 
ini, which  is  not  reckoned  a 
general  council.     The  Dona- 
tists,  of  Africa,  at  this  time, 
as    admitted    by   Catholics, 
could  number  five  hundred 
bishops,    and    the    Christian 
bishops  of  the  East  and  West 
numbered    over    two    thou- 
sand.    Yet  so  little  was  the 
great     Christian     heart     in 
sympathy  with    this    young 
Mohammed,  who  so  boastful- 
ly preached  with  the  sword, 
that  the  power  of  the  mon- 
arch   of    the    world     could 
scarcely  assemble  a  council 
large     enough    to    fill    the 
chamber  in  which  the  con- 
gregation of  the  great  Gre- 
gory  hod    formerly    assem- 
bled in  the  house  of  Anas- 
tatia. 

Gibbon  says:  "The  hope 
that  truth  and  wisdom 
would  be  found  in  the  as- 
semblies of  the  orthodox 
clergy,  induced  the  emper- 
or-to  convene,  at  Constanti- 
nople, a  synod  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  bishops,  who 
proceeded,  without  much 
difficulty  or   dela}'^,  to  com- 


from  the  village,  when  they 
found  their  trick  had  been 
frustrated  by  his  means;  but 
after  a  time  they  recalled 
him. 

"Some  time  afterward  the 
pagan    magistrate    directed 
another  similar  examination 
to  be  held  in  the  same  place 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertain- 
ing whether  there  were  no 
apostates  from  the  old  popu- 
lar religion.     On  this  occa 
sion,  certain  persons  present 
ed  themselves  with  offerings 
and     declared     themselves 
ready  to  take  the  oath  b«- 
iore     the     magistrate     who 
managed  the  trial  that  theJ'Q 
were  no  Christians  in  their 
village.      But    Sabas    came 
forward    and    said   openly: 
'  So  far  as  it  concerns  my- 
self, let  nc  one  swear,  for  1 
am  a  Christian.'     Upon  thi.s 
the   inhabitants  of  the  vil- 
lage, who  had  removed  the 
Christians  irora  their  houses 
to  a  place  of  concealment, 
declared  on  their  oath  that 
'  there  was  but  one  Christian 
in  the  village.'     The  person 
who  conducted  the  examin- 
ation   caused    Sabas    to    be 
brought  before    the    assem- 
bly, and  asked  the  bystand- 
ers whether  he  owned  any 
property.       Being     assured 
that  he  owned  nothing  but 
what  was  on  his  back,  the 
pagan    contemptuously    ex- 
claimed* 'Such  a  fellow  can 
do  neither   good   nor  hurt,' 
and  ordered  him  to  be  cast 
out. 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


317 


plete  the  theological  system 
which  had  been  established 
in  the  Council  of  Nice.    The 
vehement    disputes    of    the 
fourth     century    had    been 
chiefly  employed  on  the  na- 
ture of  the  Son  of  God;  and 
the  various  opinions  which 
were   embraced    concerning 
the   second,  were    extended 
to    the  third    person  in  the 
Trinity.     A  final  and  unan- 
imous   sentence    was     pro- 
nounced to  ratify  the  equal 
deity   of    the    Holy    Ghost. 
History  will  not  allow  much 
weight  to  the  personal  au- 
thority  of    the   Council    of 
Constantinople.     In  an  age 
when    the  ecclesiastics  had 
scandalously       degenerated 
from    the  model  of  apostol- 
ical purity,  the  most  worth- 
less  and   corrvpt   were    al- 
ways the  most  eager  to  fre- 
quent and  disturb  the  epis- 
copal assemblies.     The  con- 
flict and  fermentation  of  so 
many   conflicting    opinions, 
interests    and   tempers,    in- 
flamed   the  passions  of   the 
bishops;    and    their    ruling 
passions    were    the  love    of 
gold,  and  the   love    of    dis- 
pute.    Many  who    now    ap- 
plauded the  orthodox  piety 
of  Theodosius,    had   repeat- 
edly changed,  with  prudent 
flexibility,  their  creeds  and 
opinions;  and  in  the  various 
revolutions    of    the    church 
and  state,  the  religion  of  the 
60vereign  was  the    rule    of 
their  obsequious  faith.     Un- 
just and  disorderly  proceed- 


"Soon  after  the  Christian 
community    of    the   village 
had  celebrated   the  festival 
of    Easter,    Athanaric     fell 
upon  the  place  with  a  troop 
of  armed  men.     The  village 
preacher    and    Sabas    were 
seized    in    the    tents    where 
they  slept,  bound  in  chains 
and     carried    off,    suflering 
much  ill  treatment  on    the 
way.     The    faith    of    Sabas, 
which    triumphed    over   all 
his  sufferings,  irritated    the 
fury  of  his  persecutors.     By 
the    strength   of    his    faith, 
which  imparted  even  to  his 
body  an  unusual   power  of 
endurance,  enabling  him  to 
suffer   without    sinking,   he 
went    firmly     through     the 
whole,    and    nothing    could 
disturb     his     cheerfulness. 
During  a  great  part  of  the 
night  he  was    subjected    to 
various  kinds  of  torture,  till 
at  length  his  tormentors  fell 
asleep  and  left  him   bound 
upon  the  ground.     A  woman 
of  the  house,  who  arose  in 
the  night  to  make  bread  for 
the  famil}^,  took  pity  on  him 
and  released   him  from  his 
chains.      He    fearlessly    re- 
mained on  the  spot,  and  as- 
sisted   the    woman    in    her 
work.     The    next    morning, 
when   Athanaric    heard    of 
this,  he    caused   liim  to   be 
bound  again,  and  hung  to  a 
beam  of  the  house.     Then 
came  certain  persons  in  the 
name  of  Athanaric,  and  plac- 
ing meat  from  the  saci'ilices 
before  the  priest  and  Sabas, 


318 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


ings  forced  the  gravest  mem- 
bers of  the  assembly  to  dis- 
sent and  to  secede;  and  the 
clamorous  majority,  which 
remained  masters  of  the 
fiekl  of  battle,  could  be  com- 
pared (by  Gregory)  only  to 
wasps  or  magpies,  to  a  flight 
of  cranes,  or  to  a  flock  of 
geese."     Gib.  D.  &  F.  iii.  79. 

Such  was  the  body  of  men, 
as  reported  by  themselves, 
who  "  gave  the  finishing 
touch  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinit}'',  and  fixed  in  a  full 
and  determinate  manner  the 
doctrine  of  three  persons  in 
One  God."     Mosh.  1 :  128. 

Gibbon  says:  "The  or- 
thodox emperor  considered 
every  heretic  as  a  rebel 
against  the  supreme  power 
of  heaven  and  earth;  and 
each  of  those  powers  might 
exercise  their  peculiar  ju- 
risdiction over  the  soul  and 
body  of  the  guilty.  The  de- 
crees of  the  council  had  as- 
certained the  true  standard 
of  faith ;  and  the  ecclesias- 
tics who  governed  the  con- 
science of  Theodosius  sug- 
gested the  most  effectual 
methods  of  persecution.  In 
the  space  of  fifteen  years  he 
promulgated  at  least  fifteen 
severe  edicts  against  the 
heretics,  and  sternly  enact- 
ed that  any  laws  in  their  fa- 
vor should  be  considered  as 
frauds  or  forgeries.  The  pe- 
nal statutes  of  the  whole  em- 
pire   were    directed  against 


told  them  to  eat  it  and  save 
their  lives.  Said  the  priest: 
'  We  are  forbidden  to  par- 
take of  such  meat.  Tell 
Athanaric  he  may  order  us 
to  be  crucified,  or  to  die  in 
whatever  way  he  pleases.' 
But  Sabas,  whose  pious  feel- 
ings were  not  wholly  un- 
mixed with  passionate  ex- 
citement, demanded:  'From 
whom  comes  this  message  ?' 
And  being  told  'From  our 
lord  Athanaric,'  he  ex- 
claimed: 'There  is  but  one 
Lord,  the  God  in  heaven; 
but  Athanaric  is  a  godless 
man,  and  under  the  curse 
of  God,  and  tliis  food,  like 
Athanaric  who  sends  it  to 
us,  is  unclean.'  One  of 
Athanaric's  people,  incensed 
at  these  words,  struck  him 
with  a  club  so  severely  on 
the  breast  that  the  behold- 
ers supposed  the  stroke 
would  be  fatal.  But  he  ut- 
tered no  word  of  pain,  and 
to  the  sraiter  he  said  tri- 
umphantly: 'Believe  me,  I 
felt  it  as  little  as  if  you  had 
thrown  upon  me  a  lock  of 
wool.'  He  was  now  con- 
demned to  death  by  drown- 
ing. During  the  whole  of 
the  way,  as  he  was  led  to 
the  river  where  he  was  to 
die,  he  praised  God  that  he 
had  been  pleased  to  bestow 
on  him  the  privilege  of  dy- 
ing as  a  martyr.  Having  ar- 
rived at  the  river,  those  who 
conducted  him  began  to 
consult  with  each  other 
about  letting  him  go,  as  he 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


319 


the  ministers  and  the  per- 
sons of  all  heretics :  all  who 
were  not  Catholics  in  the 
Roman  sense." 

I.  Tlie  fine  and  penalty 
for  preaching  the  gospel  as 
taught  by  Christ,  was  "  heavy 
penalties  of  exile  and  con- 
fiscation."    Gib.  iii.  80. 

II.  To  receive,  aid,  or  pro- 
mote the  ordination  of  a 
minister,  the  fine  was  "  ten 
pounds  of  gold."  p.  81.  About 
tv/enty  thousand  dollars. 

III.  Any  building  or 
ground  where  they  met  was 
"forfeited  to  the  imperial 
domain." 

IV.  The  persons  were 
disqualified  for  any  "  honor- 
able or  lucrative  employ- 
ments ;"and  made  "'incapable 
of  making  their  wills,  or  re- 
ceiving any  advantage  from 
wills  or  donations." 

V.  The  Manicheans,  and 
those  who  ate  the  last  Sup- 
per on  the  fourteenth  day 
ol  the  month  (the  time  first 
instituted  by  the  Savior), 
were  to  suffer  deatii.  Every 
Roman  might  be  an  inform- 
er; but  to  make  sure  work, 
"the  ofiice  of  Inquisitor  of 
Faith  was  first  instituted  by 
Theodosius."     Gib.  iii.  81. 

The  universal  suff'erings 
made  earth  to  more  resem- 


had  been  guilty  of  no  crime. 
Athanaric  would  probably 
never  find"  it  out.  But  Sa- 
bas,  who  already,  with  the 
eye  of  faith,  saw  heaven 
open  before  him,  and  wished 
not  to  exchange  it  for  the 
earth,  said,  'Why  do  ye  not 
execute  your  orders  ?  I  be- 
hold what  you  can  not  see; 
already  they  wait  in  glorious 
apparel,  who  are  cume  to 
take  me  hence.'  And  while 
he  was  shouting  praise  and 
giving  thanks  to  God,  with 
his  neck  fastened  to  a  piece 
of  wood,  he  was  thrown  into 
the  water.  His  body  was 
then  drawn  from  the  stream 
and  left  to  lie  on  the  bank. 
But  a  Roman  commander  on 
the  border,  the  Dux  Soranus, 
caused  the  bones  of  the  mar- 
tyr to  be  conveyed  to  the 
other  side,  and  sent  them  as 
precious  relics  to  the  church 
of  Cappadocia,  his  native 
province,  in  compliance  with 
the  request  of  his  kinsman, 
the  Bishop  Basil,  of  Cassarea, 
"The  Christian  communi- 
ties among  the  Goths  sent,  on 
this  occasion,  a  circuhir  let- 
ter, embodying  a  report  of 
all  these  facts,  to  the  com- 
munities of  Cappadocia,  and 
to  all  the  churches  in  Chris- 
tendom. The  letter  began 
with  these  words:  -What 
was  said  by  the  Apostle  Pe- 
ter, that  in  every  nation  he 
that  feareth  the  Lord  and 
worketh  righteousness  is  ac- 
cepted with  him,  has  been 
verified  in  a  powerful  man- 


320 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


ble  the  under  world  than 
this  beautiful  phmet.  But 
though  volumes  would  be 
required  to  recount  the  hor- 
rors of  that  triumph  of  Ro- 
manism, horrors  compared 
with  which  all  that  Catho- 
lics ever  suffered  wore  as 
nothing;  yet  no  hand  was 
permitted  to  write,  no  eye 
to  pity,  no  tongue  to  sing 
the  sorrows.  The  same  laws 
which  condemned  the  per- 
son, palsied  the  hand  and 
burned  the  book.  The  dy- 
ing groans  of  a  people  were 
smothered.  The  waves  flowed 
over  where  millions  perish- 
ed, and  were  still.  So  closed 
the  fourth  century. 

CHARACTERS    AND    COUNCILS    OF 
THE     FIFTH     CENTURY. 

"Philostorgius.  A.  D.  400. 
About  this  time  lived  Posi- 
donius,  a  famous  physician, 
who  held  that  there  were  no 
demoniacs,  and  that  they 
who  were  accounted  such, 
either  were  impostors,  or 
labored  under  a  mere  bodily 
distemper," 

"A.  D.  401.  Theophilus, 
bishop  of  Alexandria,  caused 
the  works  of  Origen  to  be 
condemned  in  a  synod,  which 
he  held  in  that  city,  and  or- 
dered that  all  those  who  ap- 
proved them  should  be  ex- 
communicated.    Theophilus 


ner  also  at  the  present  time ; 
for  we  have  in  proof  of  it 
the  life  and  sufferings  of  the 
blessed  Sabas,  who  is  a  wit- 
ness of  God  and  of  our 
Savior  Jesus  Christ.'  And 
the  letter  concludes  as  fol- 
lows: 'Let  a  solemn  festival 
be  held,  then,  on  the  day  in 
which  he  received  the  crown 
of  martyrdom ;  and  mention 
it  to  the  more  distant  breth- 
ren, that  so  in  the  entire 
Church  a  festival  may  be 
observed,  and  the  Lord,  who 
chose  his  servant,  may  be 
praised.  Greet  all  the 
saints;  all  the  persecuted 
with  us  greet  you.  Praised 
for  ever  be  He,  who  can 
conduct  us  all  by  his  grace 
to  the  kingdom  of  heaven.' 

"Ulphilas  himself  labored 
as  a  bishop  among  his  peo- 
ple for  ty  years.  The  last  ten 
years  of  his  life  brought  with 
them  much  that  was  a  source 
of  pain  to  him ;  when  the 
form  of  church  doctrine  to 
which  he  was  warmly  op- 
posed, the  creed  drawn  up 
l3y  the  Council  of  Nice,  be- 
came more  and  more  dom- 
inant even  in  the  Eastern 
Church,  and  was  favored  by 
the  civil  power.  He  him- 
self was,  in  the  year  388, 
called,  with  other  bishops 
agreeing  with  him  in  doc- 
trine, by  the  Emperor  Theo- 
dosius  to  Constantinoi)le,for 
the  purpose  of  holdhig  there 
a  new  conference  on  the 
matters  in  dispute.  By  the 
ruling  doctrinal  party,  how- 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.        321 


having  sent  his  paschal  let- 
ter to  Rome,  in  which  he 
condemned  the  works  of 
Origen,  and  some  ladies 
there,  amongst  whom  was 
Marcella.  a  friend  of  Jerome, 
having  caballed  and  solicit- 
ed against  Origen,  Anasta- 
sius  condemned  this  father, 
upon  the  sight  of  some 
translations  of  some  of  his 
works." 

"  A.  D.  404.  Arsacius,  be- 
ing fourscore  years  old,  was 
made  bishop  of  Constanti- 
nople, in  the  room  of  Chry- 
sostom,  who  was  then  de- 
posed and  banished." 

"A.  D.  408.  Theodosius, 
junior,  succeeded  his  father 
Arcadius.  Socrates  and  oth- 
er historians  bestow  great 
commendation  upon  him, 
and  upon  his  wife  Athenais 
or  Eudoxia,  and  his  sister 
Pulcheria.  He  was  in  some 
respects  an  amiable  prince, 
and  had  good  qualities.  But 
lie  was  excessively  credu- 
lous and  superstitious,  and 
governed  by  those  about 
him.  A  certain  bishop  dy- 
ing in  the  odor  of  sanctity, 
Theodosius  begged  his  old 
coat,  and  used  to  wrap  him- 
self up  in  it,  in  hopes  of 
getting  some  virtue  out  of 
it.  As  if  piety,  like  the  itch, 
could  be  caught  by  wearing 
another  man's  clothes. 

"  An  impudent  monk  came 
one  day  to  him  to  ask  some 
favor,  and  being  disappoint- 
ed, he  excommunicated  the 
emperor,  and  went  his  way. 
21 


ever,  this  negotiation,  which 
indeed  under  the  existing 
circumstances  could  have 
done  no  good,  was  prevent- 
ed, and  an  imperial  law  was 
enacted,  which  forbade  all 
new  proceedings  of  this  sort 
with  regard  to  matters  of 
controversy.  Ulphilas  and 
those  associated  with  him, 
looked  upon  this  regulation 
as  only  a  proof  of  the  want 
of  confidence  of  their  oppo- 
nents in  the  goodness  of 
their  cause,  and  a  token  that 
the  doctrine  which  they 
deemed  to  be  the  truth,  was 
to  be  suppressed  by  force. 
This  was  the  last  painful 
event  which  the  worthy 
bishop,  who  had  grown  gray 
in  the  cause  of  Christianity, 
and  in  laboring  for  the  Chris- 
tian education  of  his  people,^ 
experienced.  He  died  at 
Constantinople,  A.  D.  388, 
after  having  drawn  up  a 
statement  of  his  faith  as  a 
legacy  for  his  flock,  and  laid 
down,  in  the  prospect  of 
death,  a  confession  of  the- 
doctrines  which  he  preached 
and  ever  maintained.  He 
left  behind  him  disciples 
who  labored  on  the  founda- 
tion he  had  laid..  One  of 
these  was  the  Bishop  Auxen- 
tius,  to  whom  we  are  indebt- 
ed for  the  account  of  his 
life  from  which  we  have  so 
largely  drawn.  The  latter 
says  of  him:  'The  man, 
whom  I  can  not  praise  as  he 
deserves,  and  of  whom  I 
dare  not  be  wholly  silent,  to 


322 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


The  scrupulous  prince  would 
neither  eat  nor  drink,  till 
the  monk,  being  long  sought 
for,  was  found  at  last,  and 
prevailed  upon  to  release 
the  emperor  from  the  curse 
which  he  had  laid  upon  him. 
The  storv  is  related  at  large 
bv  Theodoret."  Jor.  ii.  375, 
292. 

"A.  D. 415.  Pelagius  was 
called  to  account  for  his 
opinions." 

"A.  D.  423.  Upon  the 
death  of  Honorius,  John,  a 
considerable  person  in  the 
palace,  usurped  the  empire. 
He  made  some  laws  disa- 
greeable to  the  clergy,  and 
ordered  that  they  should  be 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  secular  courts.  Per- 
haps he  did  this  to  oblige  the 
laity." 

A.  D.  427.  Genseric,  a 
iGernian  Visgoth,  established 
his  dominion  in  Andalusia, 
in  Spain,  and  stayed  the 
hand  of  Roman  persecution 
through  the  whole  extent  of 
his  dominions. 

«A.  D.  428.  Nestorius 
was  made  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople. In  his  first  ser- 
mon before  the  emperor,  he 
declared  openly  his  intention 
to  wage  war  with  all  the 
heterodox,  and  promised  the 
emperor  success  upon  earth, 
and  a  genteel  place  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  if  he 
would  join  with  him  in  ex- 
tirpating heretics.    Even  the 


whom  I  am  more  indebted 
than  all  others,  as  he  be- 
stowed more  pains  on  me 
than  on  others;  for  he  took 
me  as  his  disciple  from  my 
earliest  years,  when  my  pa- 
rents gave  me  to  him,  taught 
me  to  study  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, opened  to  me  the 
truth,  and  by  the  mercy  of 
God  and  the  grace  of  Christ, 
brought  me  up  bodily  and 
spirituallv  as  his  son  in  the 
faith.'"   Nean.  ii.  736-741. 

Nearly  all  the  Christians 
known  in  the  world,  except 
those  receiving  from  Rome 
government  patronage,  be- 
ing called  Arian,  it  be 
comes  necessary  to  state 
what  constituted  a  man  an 
Arian.  Arianism  was  not 
the  belief  of  any  peculiar 
tenet  at  this  time ;  but  the 
rejection  of  a  form  of  faith 
which,  after  this,  was  known 
as  the  Athanasian  Creed. 

Milner  says:  "Virgilius, 
of  Tiiapsus,  a  man  famous 
lor  his  writings,  to  prevent 
the  persecution  from  being 
more  fierce,  composed  a 
number  of  treatises  under 
the  names  of  some  of  the 
most  renowned  fathers,  as 
lie  himself  acknowledged 
with  regard  to  several  of 
them.  The  celebrated  creed, 
called  that  of  Athanasius, 
is  ascribed  to  him.  He  ap- 
pears to  have  meant  well; 
but  the  artifice  was  extreme- 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      323 


orthodox  were  scandalized 
at  this  vanity  and  violence, 
which  presently  flamed  out 
in  suitable  edicts.  For  five 
daj^s  alter,  he  attempted  to 
demolish  the  church  of  the 
Arians,  and  acted  with  such 
fury,  that  they  themselves 
out  of  rage  and  despair  set 
fire  to  it  and  burnt  it  down, 
together  with  other  build- 
ings in  the  neighborhood. 
Then  he  proceeded  to  plague 
the  Novatians;  but  the  em- 
peror put  some  stop  to  it. 
Then  he  persecuted  the 
Quartadecimans  in  Lydia, 
Caria,  and  other  places;  and 
some  murders  were  commit- 
ted on  this  occasion.  He 
also  oppressed  the  Macedo- 
nians, and  took  their  church- 
es from  them." 

It  being  now  decided  that 
Christ  was  one  God  and  one 
man,  Waddington  says :  "  An- 
astasius  in  a  public  discourse 
had  ventured  to  argue,  that 
the  Virgin  Mary  could  not 
properly  to  be  called  '  Moth- 
er of  God'  (9£ot6ko^),  but 
'Mother  of  Christ'  (Xqloto- 
roKog"),  or  even  'Mother  of 
Man' (Avi9pwTroTOKOf)."  Nes- 
torius,  the  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople, says :  "He  would 
not  assert,  that  God  was  born 
of  Mary,  but  rather  that 
God,  the  Word  of  the  Fa- 
ther, was  joined  to  him  who 


ly  culpable;  and  partly  by 
his  practice,  and  partly  by 
his  example,  he  caused  much 
confusion  and  uncertainty 
in  the  works  of  the  Fathers." 
i.  4G6. 

This  African  bishop  ex- 
pressed in  one  happy  state- 
ment, all  the  contradictory 
theologies  of  the  Roman 
Church,  to  which  all  had  to 
yield  assent,  or  be  cursed  as 
Arians.  Of  course  the  Pro- 
testants who  have  now  re- 
jected it  stand  with  the  Ari- 
ans of  the  middle  ages. 

ATHANASIAN   CREED. 

"Whosover  will  be  saved, 
before  all  things  it  is  neces- 
sary that  he  hold  the  Catho- 
lic Faith ;  which  faith,  ex- 
cept every  one  do  keep 
whole  and  undefiled,  with- 
out doubt  he  shall  perish 
everlastingly. 

"And  the  Catholic  Faith 
is  this:  That  we  worship 
ONE  GOD  IN  TRINITY,  and 
TRINITY  IN  UNITY;  nei- 
ther confounding  the  Per- 
son, nor  dividing  the  sub- 
stance. For  there  is  one 
person  of  the  FATHER,  an- 
other of  the  SON,  and  an- 
other of  the  HOLY  GHCfST. 
But  the  Godhead  of  the  Fa- 
ther, of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost^  is  all  one ;  the 
glory  equal,  the  majesty  co- 
eternal.     Such  as  the  Father 


324 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


was  born  of  Mary,  It  was 
the  Man,  and  not  the  Word 
God  which  rose  again;  the 
Temple  should  be  distin- 
guished from  the  God  who 
dwells  there."  (Fleury,  liv. 
XXV.  §  2.)  To  settle  the  ques- 
tion, whether  Mary  is  the 
Mother  of  God,  the  next 
council  was  called. 

III.  A.  D.  431 .  The  General 
Council  at  Ei^hesus  decided 
that  Mary  is  the  Mother  of 
God.  Then  the  people  hailed 
the  blasphemy  with  trans- 
ports of  joy,  embraced  the 
knees  of  the  bishops  and 
kissed  their  hands.  Jortin 
says  that  they  a  were  "  warm 
and  sprightly,"  people  whose 
"pagan  ancestors  had  signal- 
ized themselves  by  their 
zeal  for  Diana."     Jor.  i.  9. 

"Eutyches,  the  enemy  of 
Nestorius,  was  accused  of 
teaching  that  the  two  na- 
tures of  Christ  were  so  unit- 
ed as  to  become  one  nature, 
and  was  condemned  by  the 
Council  of  Constantinople. 
The  Eutychians  were  sup- 
posed to  hold  that  the  two 
natures  coalesced,  and  that 
th'e  human  nature  was  ab- 
sorbed in  the  divine.  Euty- 
ches had  persecuted  Nes- 
torius. His  own  turn  came 
next,  and  lie  was  condemned, 
being  seventy  years  old. 
The  Second  Council  of  Eph- 
esus  restored  Eutyches,  and 


is,  such  is  the  Son,  and  such 
is  the  Holy  Ghost:  the  Fa- 
ther uncreate,  the  Son  un- 
create,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
uncreate  :  the  Father  incom- 
prehensible, the  Son  incom- 
prehensible, and  the  Holy 
Ghost  incomprehensible: 
the  Father  eternal,  the  Son 
eternal,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
eternal;  and  yet  they  are 
not  three  eternals,  but  one 
eternal.  As  also  there  are 
not  three  incomprehensi- 
bles,  nor  three  uncreated; 
but  one  uncreated  and  one 
incomprehensible.  So  like- 
wise the  Father  is  Almighty, 
the  Son  Almighty,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  Almighty;  and 
yet  there  are  not  three  Al- 
mighties, but  one  Almighty. 
So  the  Father  is  God,  the 
Son  is  God,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  God ;  and  yet  there 
are  not  three  Gods,  but  one 
God.  So  likewise  the  Fa- 
ther is  Lorrl,  the  Son  Lord, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  Lord; 
and  yet  there  are  not  three 
Lords,  but  one  Lord.  For 
like  as  we  are  compelled  by 
the  Christian  verity  to  ac- 
knowledge every  person  by 
himself  to  be  God  and  Lord; 
so  are  we  forbidden  by  the 
Catholic  religion  to  say, 
there  be  three  Gods  or 
three  Lords.  The  Father  is 
made  of  none,  neither  cre- 
ated, nor  begotten.  The  Son 
is  of  the  Father  alone,  not 
made  or  created,  but  begot- 
ten. The  Holy  Ghost  is  of 
the  Father  and  of  the  Son; 


ROMAN  CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.      325 


deposed  the  bisliops  who  had 
deposed  liim.  Al'terward  the 
old  man  was  again  con- 
demned and  banished. 

"In  behalf  of  the  Ephesian 
Council,  a  miracle  was  sea- 
sonably trumped  up,  and 
one  St.  Dalmatius,  a  monk, 
had  a  voice  from  heaven,  or- 
dering him  to  go  and  pre- 
sent himself  before  the  Em- 
peror Theodosius,  in  favor 
of  Cyril,  and  of  the  council. 
'Thus,  thanks  to  the  purse 
of  St.  Cyril,  the  Roman 
Church,  which  holds  ihe  in- 
fallibility of  general  coun- 
cils, is  preserved  from  an 
heresy.  Eor  if  this  prelate 
had  been  more  covetous  and 
less  spiteful  and  malicious, 
Nestorianism  would  have 
been  established,  and  the 
Virgin  Mary  would  not  have 
been  called  Mother  of  God.'' 
In  the  Nestorian  controver- 
sy, the  contending  parties 
seem  to  have  been  all  of  one 
opinion,  as  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity,  in  opposition 
to  the  Arians,  and  to  have 
held  the  consubstantiality, 
coeternity,  and  natural  co- 
equality  of  the  iXwee  pe7'sons 
or  hypostases.  'Some  of 
these  fathers  could  not  write 
their  own  name,  and  in  the 
councils  they  were  obliged 
to  employ  others  to  doit  for 
them.  This  in  all  probabil- 
ity was  very  common,  since 
they  made  no  scruple  to  own 
a  thing  which  ought  to  have 
covered  them  with  shame.' 
Clarkson,    on    the     liturgy, 


neither  made,  nor  created, 
nor  begotten,  but  proceed- 
ing. So  there  is  one  Father, 
not  three  Fathers;  one  Son, 
not  three  Sons ;  one  Holy 
Ghost,  not  three  Holy 
Ghosts.  And  in  this  Trinity, 
none  is  afore  or  after  anoth- 
er, none  is  greater  or  less 
than  another  ;  but  the  whole 
three  persons  are  coeternal 
together  and  coequal.  So 
that  in  all  things,  as  afore- 
said, the  UNITY  IN  TRINI- 
TY, and  the  TRINITY  IN 
UNITY  is  to  be  worshiped. 
He,  therefore  who  would  be 
saved,  must  think  thus  of 
the  TRINITY. 

"Furthermore,  it  is  neces 
sary  to  everlasting  salvation, 
that  he  also  believe  rightly 
the  incarnation  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  For  the  right 
faith  is,  that  we  believe  and 
confess,  that  our  Lord  Jeeus 
Christ  the  Son  of  God,  is 
God  and  man;  God  of  the 
substance  of  the  Father,  be- 
gotten before  the  worlds: 
and  man,  of  the  substance 
of  his  mother,  born  in  the 
world;  perfect  God,  and  per- 
fect man  ;  of  a  reasonable 
soul,  and  human  flesh  sub- 
sisting; equal  with  the  Fa- 
ther, as  touching  his  God- 
head; and  inferior  to  the 
Father  as  touching  his  man- 
hood; Avho  although  he  be 
God  and  man,  yet  he  is  not 
two,  but  one  Christ;  one  not 
by  conversion  of  the  God- 
head into  flesh,  but  by  the 
taking  of  the  manhood  into 


326 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


hatli  produced  many  exam- 
ples taken  from  the  acts  of 
the  Councils  of  Ephesus 
and  Chalcedon,  where  sub- 
scriptions are  to  be  found  in 
this  form:  7,  such  an  one^ 
have  suhscrihed  ly  the  hand 
of  such  an  one,  hecaxise  I 
can  not  write.  And  snch  a 
hishop  having  said  that  he 
cotild  not  write,  7,  whose 
name  is  unde7'  ivritten,  have 
suhscrihed  for  him.T 

Yet  the  Catholic  prelates 
had  the  temerity  to  discuss 
and  decide  such  questions 
as  the  following: 

"Whether  Christ  being 
God,  and  dying,  did  God 
die? 

"Whether  the  Virgin 
Mary,  who  was  the  Mother 
of  Christ,  could  be  called 
the  Mother  of  God  ? 

"Whether  Christ  were 
two  persons  or  only  one? 

"  Whether  Christ  was 
everywhere  present,  in  his 
human  as  in  his  divine  na- 
ture ? 

"  Whether  one  Person  of 
the  Trinity  could  be  said  to 
suffer  for  us? 

"Whetlier  the  whole  Trin- 
ity could  be  said  to  sufler 
for  us? 

"Whether  in  Christ  there 
were  three  substances  or 
only  two? 

"These  questions  produced 
altercation  and  strife,  and 
then  anathematisms,  and 
then  fightings  and  murders." 
J  or.  ii.  471. 


God.  One  altogether,  not 
by  confusion  of  substance, 
but  by  the  unity  of  person. 
For  as  the  reasonable  soul 
and  flesh  is  one  man,  so  God 
and  man  is  one  Christ;  who 
suffered  for  our  salvation; 
descended  into  hell,  rose 
again  the  third  day  from  the 
dead;  he  ascended  into 
heaven,  he  sitteth  on  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father, 
God  Almighty,  from  whence 
he  shall  come  to  judge  the 
quick  and  the  dead;  at 
whose  coming  all  men  shall 
rise  again  with  their  bodies, 
and  shall  give  account  for 
their  own  works.  And  they 
that  have  done  good  shall 
go  into  life  everlasting,  and 
they  that  have  done  evil, 
into  everlasting  fire.  This 
is  the  Catholic  faith,  which 
except  a  man  believe  faith- 
fully, he  can  not  be  saved. 
Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and 
to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy 
Ghost,  As  it  was  in  the  be- 
ginning, is  now,  and  ever 
shall  be,  world  without  end. 
Amen." 

I  would  add,  as  it  was  not 
in  the  beginning,  not  now, 
and  never  shall  be.  This 
creed  is  a  medley  of  truth 
and  error  mingling  in  one 
mass — Tritheism,  Sabellian- 
ism.  Monotheism,  Polythe- 
ism, Arianism,  Tri-Arian- 
ism,  or  Trinitarianism,  So- 
cinianism,  and  Atheism.  It 
is    Arian   as   it  has   a    ere- 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


327 


The  rich,  the  proud,  the 
ambitious  Cyril  was  presi- 
dent of  the  council,  and  as- 
sisted by  his  soldier  monks 
had  no  difficulty  in  carry- 
ing his  points  against  Nes- 
torius. 

Gregory  says :  "  Nestori- 
us,  in  the  absence  of  several 
bishops  who  had  a  right  to 
seats  in  the  council,  was 
condemned  unheard,  con- 
fined in  a  monastery,  and  af- 
terward banished  to  Oasis, 
a  solitary  place  in  the  des- 
erts of  Egypt,  where,  old 
and  infirm,  he  soon  termin- 
ated a  life  of  sufi'ering  and 
persecution."  Greg.  &Rut. 
149. 

Mosheim  thinks  "Mother 
of  God  "an  "innocent  term," 
but  liis  learned  translator 
remarks :  "The  title  of  Moth- 
er of  God  to  the  Virgin 
Mary  is  not  perhaps  so  in- 
nocent as  Dr.  Mosheim  takes 
it  to  be.  To  the  judicious 
and  learned  it  can  present 
no  idea  at  all;  and  to  the 
ignorant  and  unwary  it  may 
present  the  most  absurd  and 
monstrous  notions.  The  in- 
vention and  use  of  such 
mysterious  terms,  as  have 
no  place  in  Scripture,  are 
undoubtedly  pernicious  to 
true  religion.  Anastasius, 
not  Nestorius,  was  the  first 


ated  or  begotten  God,  who 
had  a  beginning  —  "God 
of  God."  It  is  Thricearian 
in  that  it  makes  three  cre- 
ated or  conditional  Gods. 
The  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost  are  three  jpersons^ 
not  three  Gods,  but  only 
sharers  in  one  Godhead  by 
union.  This  is  Tri-Arian  or 
Trinitarian,  making  the  three 
in  some  way  created  Gods, 
beginning  as  persons  and 
becoming  Gods  by  union. 
It  is  Atheistic  in  that  a  cre- 
ated or  conditional  God  is 
no  God.  It  is  Monotheism 
in  that  it  gives  the  Father 
alone  self  existence  and  in- 
dependence. It  is  Sabellian 
in  that  it  confounds  the  per- 
sons in  a  union  of  one  (per< 
son)  God.  It  is  Socinian  in 
that  when  summed  up  it  has 
but  one  God  and  one  man 
in  all  its  compound  of  God 
and  Savior.  It  .robs  God  of 
His  Son  and  destroys  the 
Fatherhood  of  God,  by  tak- 
ing the  Son  to  make  a  God 
of,  and  robs  the  Father  of  a 
Spirit  to  make  another  per- 
son and  God  of  the  Spirit. 
It  is  a  theological  medley 
of  truth  and  error,  rolling  all 
the  known  heresies  in  one 
mass  with  truth  in  alternate 


328 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


who  kindled  the  flame,  and 
Nestorius  was  the  suffering 
and  persecuted  party  from 
the  beginning  of  the  contro- 
versy to  his  death.  His  of- 
fers of  accommodation  were 
refused,  his  explanations 
were  not  read,  his  submis- 
sion was  rejected,  and  he 
was  condemned  unheard." 
(i.  150.)  And  this  is  the 
truth. 

A.  D.  488.  Eutyches,  anx- 
ious to  avoid  Nestorius, 
taught  that  Christ  had  only 
one  nature;  that  of  the  in- 
carnate Word  which  over- 
ruled and  governed  the  hu- 
manity. 

A.  D.  449.  Theodosius  II. 
summoned  a  council  at  Eph- 
esus.  "The  tumults  which 
had  disgraced  the  church 
in  431  were  repeated  with 
some  additional  brutalities 
in  449  ;  the  Egyptians  again 
were  triumphant;  and  the  as- 
sembh''  at  length  dispersed, 
after  having  sanctioned  tiie 
doctrine  of  Eutyches,  and 
acquired  the  title,  by  which 
it  has  been  stigmatized  ia 
every  age  of  the  church  as 
'  The  Assembly  of  Robbers.' " 
(Mosh.  i.  152.)  Here  Flavi- 
anus  was  scourged  in  "  a  most 
barbarous  manner,"  and  died 
Boon    after    of    bruises    re- 


affirmations and  contrac- 
tions. All  who  would  not 
affirm  this  were  counted 
Arians. 

LEARNING   AND   THE    BIBLE. 

Neander  remarks:  "Sem- 
iarianism  and  Arianism  con- 
tinued to  predominate  for 
some  time  among  ihe  rude 
populations,  especially  of 
German  origin,  which  were 
during  this  period  converted 
to  Christianity,  because  ihey 
had  been  first  instructed  by 
teachers  who  were  attached 
to  those  principles;  because 
they  held  fixst  ^o  llie  for'in  in 
which  they  had  once  received 
Christianiti/^  and  this  very 
form  may  have  constituted 
a  convenient  point  of  transi- 
tion for  rude  nations.  This 
mode  of  apprehending  the 
doctrine  cf  the  Trinity  may 
have  been  better  suited  to 
them  than  the  more  com- 
pletely developed  Nlcene 
vieia.  It  seems  to  have  been 
a  peculiarity  of  the  Semiari- 
an  theologians,  whereby, 
perhaps,  they  were  hetter 
adapted  to  be  teachers  of 
the  rude  tribes  of  people, 
that,  being  less  practiced 
logicians,  they  adhered  more 
tenaciously  to  the  simple 
Bible  doctrine,  and  were  not 
for  teaching  anything  wiiich 
they  could  not  prove  with 
the  exactness  of  verbal  tes- 
timony from  the  Bible. 
Hence  they  frequently  of- 
fered it  as  an  objection  to 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


S29 


cfiived  from  the  president  of 
the  council,  Dioscorus  the 
bishop  of  Alexandria.  But 
the  work  of  crucifying  Christ 
was  not  yet  finished. 

Maclaine  says:  "Barsu- 
mas  was  he  who  assisted  the 
bishop  of  Alexandria  (Dios- 
corus) and  the  soldiers,  in 
beating  Flavianus  to  death 
in  the  Council  of  Ephesus, 
and  to  siiun  whose  fury,  the 
orthodox  bishops  were 
forced  to  creep  into  holes, 
and  hide  themselves  under 
benches  in  that  pious  as- 
sembly. Eutyches  never  af- 
firmed what  is  here  attrib- 
uted to  him:  he  maintained 
simply,  that  the  two  natures, 
which  existed  in  Christ  be- 
fore his  incarnation,  became 
one  after  it,  by  the  hyposta- 
tical  union.  This  miserable 
dispute  about  words  was 
nourished  by  the  contending 
parlies  having  no  clear  ideas 
of  the  terms  person  and  na- 
ture, as  also  by  an  invinci- 
ble ignorance  of  the  sub- 
ject."    i.  153. 

IV.*  The  General  Coun- 
cil of  Chalcedon  met  A.  D. 
451.  Waddington  says : ''That 
it  condemned  Eutyches 
and  the  orthodox  doctrines 
of  'Christ  in  one  jDerson  and 
two  natures'  was  finally  es- 
tablished. The  Eutychians, 
or  Monophysites,  are  also 
known  in  history  by  the  ap- 


the  defenders  of  the  Nicene 
Council,  that  they  were 
obliged  to  have  recourse  to 
speculative  reasoning,  in- 
stead of  the  Bible,  to  prove 
the  Homoo%L8ionP     ii.  424. 

This  is  a  new  view  all 
along  before  it  was  the  Sem- 
iarians  and  Arians,  who  were 
skilled  in  language  and  logic, 
and  the  Catholics  were  de- 
ceived. Welmsley,  the  great 
Catholic  historian,  says: 

"In  459  was  held  a  coun- 
cil at  Arminium  in  Italy, 
consisting  of  above  four 
hundred  bishops.  The  Ari- 
ans here  dressed  up  a  fraud- 
ulent profession  of  faith,  in 
appearance  Catholic,  but 
containing  the  Arian  poison 
under  artful  ambiguous  ex- 
pressions. The  Catholics, 
not  aware  of  the  fraud,  and 
supposing  the  profession  to 
be  orthodox,  subscribed  it. 
It  was  in  consequence  of 
this  subscription  that  St. 
Jerome  made  the  following 
remark:  'The  world,'  said 
he,  'w^as  struck  witli  grief, 
and  woiulered  to  find  itself 
become  Arian.'"  Tastorini, 
p.  8. 

"Auxentius,  the  Arian 
bishop  of  Milan,  *  *  im- 
posed on  Valentinian  by  a 
dexterous  use  of  those  am- 
biguities of  speech  in  which 
the  Arians  all  along  ex- 
celleJ."     Mil.  i.  327. 

The  people  called  Semiari- 


330 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


pellatioii  of  Jacobites,  from 
the    name    of  one    of  their 
teachers,  James  Baradaeus." 
'     Wad.  165. 

Three  bishops  Theodore, 
Ibas,  and  Theodoret,  wrote 
against  Cyril,  who  con- 
demned Nestorius.  Their 
writings  were  called  the 
"Three  Chapters," in  sympa- 
thy with  Nestorians ;  which 
yet  it  was  hard  to  condemn 
without  encouraging  Euty- 
chians.  So  it  was  now  decided 
"  That  in  Christ  two  distinct 
natures  are  united  in  one 
jpersonP  (Mosh.  i.  152.)  Per- 
sonality had  always  been 
supposed  to  include  a  mind 
and  will ;  but  some  began 
to  teach  that  Christ  in  one 
person,  had  two  minds  or 
wills. 

Justinian,  the  emperor, 
condemned  the  writings  of 
Theodoret  and  Ibas;  and  the 
bishop  of  Constantinople, 
Mennas,  signed  the  edict  of 
Justinian.  At  first  "Pope 
Vigilius,"  of  Rome,  hesi- 
tated, but  finally  he  too 
signed  it. 

Reeves,  the  Catholic,  says : 
"Vigilius  condemned  the 
Three  Chapters,  under  the 
saving  clause,  without  prej- 
udice to  the  Council  of  Chal- 
cedon."     Then  the  fifth  Gen- 


ans  were  the  Christians  who 
had   not  changed   their  re- 
ligion.    The    idea    of    their 
being  "less  practiced  logic- 
ians" than  the  Catholics  is 
a   good  joke.     The   Nicene 
and  Athanasian  Creeds   are 
specimens  of  the  "logic" — 
pardon  the  application — of 
the  rude  Africans,  Spaniards, 
and  Italians,  who  formed  the 
faith  of  Rome.     On  the  side 
of  the  Christians,  who  "  ad- 
hered more    tenaciously   to 
the  simple   Bihle   doctrine., 
and  were  not  for  teaching 
anything  which  they  could 
not  prove  with  the  exactness 
of   verbal    testimony  from 
the  Bible^''  were  such  logic- 
ians,   scholars,    and     Bible 
critics  as  Eusebius,  the  his- 
torian, Eusebius,  the  states- 
man,   Macedonius,  Apollin- 
aris,  Marclus,  Andeus,  Cyril, 
of  Jerusalem,  Ulphilas   and 
Eunomius.     If  the  Romans 
had   any   man   to    compare 
with  these,  historians  have 
failed  to  notice  them.    What 
does    history    teach    us   re- 
specting   the     comparative 
talents  of  the  Catholics  and 
Arians? 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.      831 


eral  Council  was  called  by 
Justinian. 

In  the  dissolution  of  Ro- 
man power  in  the  west,  in 
476,  Italy  was  possessed  by 
King  Odoacer,  Africa  by  the 
Vandals,  Spain  and  a  great 
part  of  Gaul  by  the  Goths, 
the  rest  of  Gaul  by  the  Bur- 
gundians  and  Franks,  and 
Britain  by  the  Saxons. 
Amidst  the  temporal  revo- 
lutions and  disorders  the 
church  still  maintained  it- 
self. 

"  About  the  year  420,  the 
Franks  were  under  a  lead- 
er called  Pharamond,  whom 
the  modern  French  style 
their  first  king,  but  of  whom 
history  furnishes  very  little 
to  be  relied  on.  Clovis,  the 
son  of  Childeric,  his  great 
grandson,  claims  the  honor, 
with  a  better  title,  of  being 
the  founder  of  the  French 
monarchy." 

The  bloody  Clovis  was 
called  "The  Eldest  Son  of 
the  Church;"  because,  says 
Welmsley,  in  Pastorini: 
"There  was  not  one  Catho- 
lic king  in  the  world.  Odo- 
acer, who  reigned  over  Ita- 
ly, was  an  Arian.  The  same 
were  the  kings  of  Spain  and 
Genseric,  in  Africa.  The 
different  princes  in  Gaul  or 
France     were     also     either 


THE    CATHOLIC    BISHOPS  DE- 
CEIVED. 

Reeves  thinks  the  Cath- 
olic bishops  all,  even  Pope 
Liberius,  were  overreached 
by  the  logic  of  the  Arians 
at  Sirmium,  and  signed  the 
creed  innocently,  "not  hav- 
ing intended  any  thing 
wrong."     112. 

"  The  character  of  Athan- 
asius  shines  more  in  his  life 
than  in  his  writings,"  "His 
treatise  on  the  unpardona- 
ble sin  is  a  monument  of 
infirmity."  "  His  address  to 
Constantino  is  wanting  in 
meekness."    Mil.  i.  324. 

Milner  calls  "Palladius 
and  Secundianus  two  Arian 
bishops,"  and  says  "it  is  as- 
tonishing with  what  artificial 
dexterity  Palladius  evaded 
the  plain  and  direct  inter- 
rogatories of  Ambrose,  and 
while  he  seemed  to  honor 
the  Son  of  God  in  the  same 
manner  as  others,  and  to  re- 
duce the  contest  to  a  verbal 
dispute,  lie  still  reserved  the 
distinguishing  point  of  Arius. 
A  subtilty  ever  practiced  by 
these  heretics !"  Milner  i. 
333. 

"A.  D.  374.  Auxentius, 
bishop  of  Milan,  by  artifice 
and  dexterity,  he  had,  as  we 
have  seen,  imposed  on  Vol- 
entinian,  and  preserved  his 
seat  to  his  death."  Mil.  i. 
328. 


332 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


Heathens  or  Arians.  In  the 
east  reigned  the  Emperor 
Zeno  Eutj^chian."  p.  88 ;  and 
on  pp.  99,  105,  he  applies  the 
hatred  of  these  to  the  whore 
of  Rome,  and  the  (Jatholic 
Church. 

Clovis  was  a  youth  of  a 
bold,  aspiring  genius,  when 
lie  succeeded  his  father 
Childeric  in  481,  as  king  of 
the  Franks.  Though  no 
more  than  fifteen  years  of 
age,  he  put  himself  -At  the 
head  of  his  troops,  not  very 
formidable  in  number,  but 
resolute  in  action,  crossed 
the  Rhine,  and  attacked 
Syagrias,  who  presided  over 
a  considerable  tract  of  coun- 
try in  the  Roman  name. 
Clovis  was  victorious;  the 
accession  of  territory  to  his 
hereditary  dominions  in- 
creased his  strength,  and  en- 
abled him  to  undertake  new 
conquests.  The  last  spark 
of  the  civil  power  of  Rome 
was  extinct  in  Gaul ;  the 
conquering  Frank  gave  it  the 
name  of  France. 

In  the  year  493,  Clovis 
married  Clotilda,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Chilperic,  and  niece 
of  Gondeband,  king  of  the 
Burgundians.  Clotilda  was 
a  virtuous  princess,  and  a 
Catholic. 


SEMIARIANS    AND    CATHOLICS 
UNITE. 

The  Arians,  who,  under 
Eudoxius,  bishop  of  Constan- 
tinople, had  ruled  the  capi- 
tal in  all  ecclesiastical  af- 
fairs, in  the  time  of  Constan- 
tius,  rejoiced  to  tind  Valens 
equally  supple  and  ductile 
as  that  emperor.  Even  the 
party  of  Macedonius,  a  sort 
of  Semiarians,  who  allowed 
the  Son  of  God  to  be  like  the 
Father,  though  not  of  the 
same  substance,  and  who 
were  likewise  enemies  to 
the  Divinity  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  could  not  gain  the  fa- 
vor of  the  emperor,  but 
were  persecuted  as  well  as 
the  orthodox,  while  Eudox- 
ius, with  the  complete  Ari- 
ans, who  would  not  allow 
the  similarity  of  the  Son  to 
the  Father,  engrossed  all  the 
churches.  The  Semiarians, 
induced  by  these  circum- 
stances, entered  into  con- 
nections with  Liberius,  bish- 
op of  Rome,  and  reunited 
themselves  with  the  orth- 
odox churches  of  the  West." 
Mil.  i.  321. 

Gregory  Nazianzen  was 
"made  a  presbyter  by  his 
father.  Tlie  old  man,  better 
versed  in  prayer  than  dispu- 
tation, was  once  imposed  on 
by  Arian  subtleties."  Mil. 
i.  370. 

The  learned  Catholics  had 
their  own  prejudices  against 
Greek.     Miluer  thinks. 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 


A  martial  prince  of  Ger- 
many suddenly  broke  into 
the  French  territory.  Cle- 
vis marched  against  him, 
and  encountered  him  in  the 
plain  of  Tolbiac,  twenty-four 
miles  from  Cologne,  The 
battle  was  obstinate  and 
bloody;  his  men  gave  way, 
and  the  shouts  of  victory 
spread  among  the  German 
ranks.  In  that  critical  junc- 
ture, Clovis  called  aloud 
upon  the  God  of  Clotilda, 
and  solemnly  vowed  to  make 
himself  a  Christian  should 
he  gain  the  day.  He  con- 
quered, and  on  the  25th  of 
December,  496,  was  baptized. 
About  three  thousand  of  his 
warlike  followers  were  bap- 
tized at  the  same  time.  On 
that  day  the  church  received 
a  Catholic  king  within  her 
bosom,  the  only  one  at  that 
time  existing  in  the  Chris- 
tian world;  lor  Anastasius, 
the  emperor  of  the  east, 
was  a  Eutychian;  and  the 
crowned  despots  of  Africa, 
of  Italy,  of  Spain,  and  the 
rest  of  Gaul,  were  professed 
Arians. 

Baptism  altered  not  the 
political  and  military  plans 
of  Clovis.  With  his  usual  ar- 
dor he  pursued  his  schemes 


"It  is  a  very  unjust  sur- 
mise of  Mr.  Gibbon  to  infer 
from  Augustine's  unwilling- 
ness to  learn  Greek  that  he 
never  attained  tlie  knowl- 
edge    of     that     language." 

MEN  OF  LEARNING. 

Such  w^ere  Basil,  of  An- 
cyra,  Ursacius,  Valens,  Mel- 
etius,  Auxentius,  Georgius, 
Flanninus,  and  Eusebius, 
the  historian,  Eusebius,  the 
Christian  statesman,  Ulphi- 
las,  the  translator,  to  say 
nothing  of  Macedonius, 
Apollinaris,  Marcellus,  An- 
deus,  Cyril,  of  Jerusalem, 
and  Eunomius.     Mosh.i.  107. 

Pricillian  can  not  be  ac- 
cused of  a  want  of  learning. 
Gibbon  reflects  on  the  Cath- 
olic Augustine  for  hating 
Greek,  but  Apollinaris  was 
the  acknowledged  scholar 
of  the  age.  Indeed  the  plea 
of  the  Catholics  by  which 
they  excuse  Pope  Liberius 
and  their  bishops  for  signing 
the  Creed  of  Sirmium,  is  that 
they  were  imposed  upon, 
and  misunderstood  its  im- 
port. Reeves  says  the  pope 
fell  by  an  "error  of  judg- 
ment." 

Milner  snj's:  "The  Apol- 
linarii,  father  and  son,  Avere 
of  Laodicea;  the  father  a 
presbyter,  the  son  a  reader 


334 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


of  conquest.  Within  the 
course  of  twelve  years, 
Armorica,  Burgundy,  Aqui- 
tian,  and  all  the  country 
lying  between  the  Loire  and 
Pyrenees,  submitted  to  his 
arms,  and  owned  him  for 
their  sovereign.  He  made 
Paris  his  royal  residence, 
and  the  capital  of  his  king- 
dom. There,  after  an  active 
and  glorious  reign  of  thirty 
years,  he  died  in  511.  Twen- 
ty-five years  after  his  death, 
the  Emperor  Justinian  sign- 
ed a  treat}'",  by  which  he 
yielded  to  the  Franks  the 
sovereignty  of  the  countries 
beyond  the  Alps,  and  estab- 
lished on  a  legal  foundation 
the  throne  of  Clovis.  Goth, 
Burgnndian,  Gaul,  and  Van- 
dal, all  were  molded  into 
one  general  mass  of  Franks 
or  Frenchmen. 

POPES    OF   THE    FIFTH    CENTURY. 

A.  D.  402.  St.  Innocent 
was  the  son  of  Anastasius 
the  former  pope.  His  book 
of  rules  allows  inferior  cler- 
gy to  marry. ,  Bowers'  His. 
of  Popes,  i.  132.  A.  D.  412, 
Arsacius,  a  boy  eight  years 
old,  was  made  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople.    Reeves,  147. 

A.   D.  417.     St.  Zosimus 


in  the  church.  Bolh  were 
skilled  in  Greek  literature; 
the  father  taught  grammar, 
the  son  rhetoric.  Epiphan- 
ius,  a  sophist,  was  united 
with  them  in  the  closest  in- 
timacy. Theodotus,  bishop 
of  Laodicea,  very  properly 
fearing  that  the  connection 
with  a  pagan  might  endan- 
ger their  souls,  advised  them 
to  give  up  his  acquaintance. 
They  despised  the  advice, 
and  persisted.  George,  the 
successor  of  Theodotus,  af- 
terward attempting  in  vain 
the  same  thing,  expelled 
them  at  length  from  Chris- 
tian communion."  Mil.  i. 
359. 

Such  Avas  the  logic  of  the 
Roman  Church.  The  Trin- 
itarian Marcellus  held  what 
was  called  the  "  Samosatean 
or  Sabellian  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity."  (ii.  395.)  Yet  he 
and  his  brethren  found  "an 
affectionate  reception"  by 
Pope  Julius.  (Nean.ii.  395.) 
The  Nicene  faith  being,  as 
we  have  before  shown,  only 
a  revival  of  the  Ilomoousion 
heresy  of  Paul,  of  Samosata, 
condemned  in  269,  uniting 
with  the  rugged  African 
tritheistic  doctrine  of  the 
Roman  Church. 

FIRST   CATHOLIC   KING. 

A.  D.  493.  The  soil  of 
France   was  early  baptized 


IIOMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      335 


was    a  "Pelagian"  heretic. 
Bowers,  i.  152-4. 

A.  D.  418.  St.  Bonifacius  I. 
was  appointed  by  Ilonorius 
an  "Arian"  emperor,  who 
decided  against  his  rival  Eu- 
laliiis;  both  having  been 
elected  and  ordained.  Du 
Pin,  i.  417. 

A.  D.  425.  St.  Celestinns 
sent  Germanus  to  England 
to  operate  against  the  "Pe- 
lagians," and  Patrick  to  Ire- 
land; both  found  Christians 
to  accept  their  labors  and 
withstand  their  Romanism, 

A.  D.  433.  St.  Sixtus  III. 
was  first  a  Pelagian.  Bow- 
ers, i.  168.  Great  quarrels 
and  commotions  had  contin- 
ued for  years  about  the  na- 
ture of  the  Son  of  God, 
some  holding  that  two  per- 
sons, God  and  man,  were 
born  of  Mary,  and  calling 
her  27ieotokos,  the  Mother 
of  God.  The  Catholics  were 
divided.  The  bishops  be- 
ing temporal  princes,  went 
to  the  councils  like  kings, 
with  large  bodies  of  soldiers 
or  assassins,  called  monks. 
St.  Cyril  thought  that  Mary 
was  the  Mother  of  God; 
Nestorius  thought  that  God 
and  Christ  were  two  persons, 
and    that   only   Christ   was 


with  the  blood  of  the  mar- 
tyrs, and  enriched  with  the 
ashes  of  the  saints,  but  she 
was  not  yet  converted  to 
Rome.  "Fifteen  councils 
are  recorded  to  have  been 
held  in  France  in  the  fourth, 
and  twenty-five  in  the  fifth 
century;  that  at  Orange 
(441)  declared  that  no  coun- 
cil should  ever  separate, 
without  appointing  the  time 
of  the  next  meeting."  Wad. 
190. 

Pagan  Franks  afterward 
invaded  her  territory,  and 
these  were  the  hope  of  the 
monks.  The  new  religion 
passing  by  all  the  original 
Christians,  dates  the  conver- 
sion of  France  from  the  mar- 
riage of  Clotilda  with  a  hea- 
then robber,  who  had  set- 
tled at  Paris. 

A.  D.  481.  Paris  was  set- 
tled by  the  Franks  from 
about  Holland  in  the  fourth 
century.  Toward  the  close 
of  the  fifth  century,  Clovis 
was  Iheir  king.  His  fiither 
Childeric,  while  an  exile, 
was  entertained  by  the  king 
of  the  Thuringians ;  and  when 
he  was  restored,  the  queen 
forsook  the  husband  for  the 
lover,  and  Clovis  was  the 
fruit  of  her  folly.     At   the 


.6 


CHlTRCn    UISTORY". 


born.  Ent3^clies  held  that 
there  was  but  one  nature  in 
Christ.  Popish  infallibility 
was  not  yetinvented,  no  one 
bowed  to  the  judgment  of 
the  bishop,  and  they  fought 
it  out.  At  the  council  of  A. 
D.  449,  called  the  "  Conven- 
ticle of  Kobbers,"  the  bish- 
op of  Constantinople  was 
kicked  to  death  l^y  Cathol, 
his  brother  bishop. 

A.  D.  440.  St.  Leo  the 
Great  extended  the  law  of 
celibacy  to  sub-deacons,  who 
were  not  to  abandon  their 
wives,  but  to  live  with  them 
as  sisters.     Bowers,  i.  189. 

Pope  Leo  died  in  46L 
Basnage  says:  "His  foible 
was  ambition,  and  he  ob- 
tained of  Valentinian  that 
all  the  Western  bishops 
should  be  under  his  juris- 
diction. He  oppressed  Man- 
icheans,  Eutycbians,  Nesto- 
rians,  and  Pelagians.  Bas. 
iii.  504.     Jor.  ii.  433. 

A.  D.  461.  St.  Hilarius 
was  a  bitter  persecutor  of 
those  Catholics  who  differed 
from  him.   Bell.  i.  254. 

A.  D.  468.  St.  Simplicius 
wielded  but  little  power, 
nearly  all  the  Avorld  having 
repudiated  the  Trinity. 


age  of  fifteen  he  succeeded 
his  father  in    the    life  of  a 
robber     or     petty    warrior. 
The  pay  of  his  soldii^rs  was 
the  division  of  the  spoil ;  the 
penalty  of  disobedience  was 
death ;  the  result  of  his  life 
was  the  establishment  of  the 
French    monarchy,   the    in- 
troduction  of    popery    into 
France,  the  distress  cf  na 
tions,  and  the  slaughter  of 
many  people.    His  wife,  Clo- 
tilda, was    a  votary  of  the 
New  Church,   and   political 
priests  of   that  religion,  let 
no  such  opportunities  pass. 
Clovis  insensibly  listened  to 
the  voice  of  love  and  relig- 
ion.    In  the  distress  of  bat- 
tle he  invoked  the  God  of 
Clotilda,  and  when  victory 
crowned  his  arms,  he  adored 
him ;  and  the  Franks  proved 
equally  ready  to  follow  him 
in  the  heat  of  battle  or  the 
waters  of  baptism. 

A.  D.  507.  At  Paris,  Clo- 
vis declared  to  an  assembly 
of  warriors  :  ■•'  It  grieves  me 
to  see  that  the  Arians  still 
possess  the  fairest  portion 
of  Gaul.  Let  us  march 
against  them  with  the  aid 
of  God,  and,  having  van- 
quished the  heretics,  we 
will  possess  and  divide  their 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCn. 


337 


THE  FIKST  CATHOLIC  KING. 

SIXTH   CENTURY. 


THE  MARRIED   POPE. 

A.  D.  488.  Pope  Stephen 
was  a  married  Pope.  Yet 
they  have  generously  canon- 
ized him,  despite  his  wife. 

A.  D.  492.  St.  Gelasius 
ordered  that  the  Eucharist 
should  be  received  in  both 
kinds,  or  neither,  as  the  same 
mystery  can  not  be  divided 
without  sacrilege.  Bell.  i. 
286. 

A.  D.  496.  St.  Anastasius 
II.  At  this  time  Olovis 
adopted  Catholicism. 

A.  D.  498.  St.  Symma- 
chus.  After  much  strife 
among  the  Catholics,  King 
Theodoric,  the  "  Arian,"  de- 
cided that  he  should  be 
pope ;  but  being  removed 
for  his  crimes,  so  much  fight- 
ing and  murdering  took 
place  that  he  was  reinstated, 
and  Theodoric  ordered  a 
council,  A.  D.  499,  which  en- 
acted rules  for  future  elec- 
tions.   Bowers,  i.  297. 

COUNCILS   OF    THE     SIXTH    CEN- 
TURY. 

A.  D.  527.     Justinian,  the 
tyrant,  began  to  reign.     He 

22 


CATHOLIC  CONVERSION. 

To  please  Clotilda  and  the 
Catholics,  Clovis  casting  far 
away  his  battle  axe,vowed  to 
build  a  church  to  the  Apos- 
tles. This  confirmed  the  at- 
tachment of  the  Catholics, 
"  with  whom  he  secretly  cor- 
responded, and  their  devout 
wishes  were  gradually  rip- 
ened into  a  formidable  con- 
spiracy "  (Gib.  iii.  466.)  A 
viMte  hart  appeared  to  ^uide 
the  Catholic  army,  and  a 
flaming  meteor  was  the  sig- 
nal of  success ;  he  met  Alaric, 
king  of  Toulouse,  only  to 
conquer,  and  "  the  vague  ex- 
pression of  a  mountain  of 
the  slain,  serves  to  indicate 
a  cruel,  though  indefinite 
slaughter.  Bordeaux  sub- 
mitted. Toulouse  was  in- 
defensible, and  the  eldest 
son  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth 
century  "  penetrated  as  far 
as  Spain,  established  the 
Catholic  Church,  A.  D.  510, 
and  delegated  to  his  lieu- 
tenants the  exterminating 
of  the  Visgoths,  from  which 
partial   success,  the    ample 


338 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


was  a  bigot,  and  his  wife, 
Theodora,  a  strumpet.  (Jor. 
iii.  15.)  He  was  the  first 
"Most  Christian"  Emperor, 
but  fell  into  the  heresy, 
dreadful  in  that  day,  of  sup- 
posing Christ's  body  was  in- 
corruptible. For  this  her- 
es}'^  he  made  amends  by  per- 
secuting other  heretics.  His 
edicts  are  by  all  pronounced 
"  cruel."  Theodora  reformed 
the  women,  and  Justinian 
the  church.  She  shut  five 
hundred,  of  easy  virtue,  in 
a  monastery  (iii.  32),  and  he 
turned  all  churches  over  to 
the  Catholics,  and  seized 
the  fortunes  of  the  "here- 
tics "  to  enrich  his  own  cof- 
fers. A  rescript  is  dated 
541.  He  compelled  all  to 
become  Catholics,  or  go  into 
banishment. 

A.  D.  565.  Justinius,  jun- 
ior, succeeded  to  the  throne. 

A.  I>.  534.  The  council  in 
Gaul  condemned  all  who 
ate  things  strangled,  torn  or 
killed  by  other  beasts,  or 
olTered  to  idols, 

v.*  The  Fifth  General 
Council  met  at  Constantino- 
ple, May  4,  553.  The  Ihree 
Chapters  were  condemned 
by  this  council  as  heretical; 
yet    the   writers    were     in- 


province  of  Aquitain  from 
the  mountains  of  Loire,  was 
united  to  France  and  sub- 
dued to  the  creed  of  the  Ro- 
mans."    See  Gib.  iii.  469. 

The  victory  being  won,  he 
hasted  to  his  baptism  with 
"three  thousand  of  his  war- 
like subjects;  and  their  ex- 
ample was  imitated  by  the 
remainder  of  the  gentle  har- 
larians^  who,  in  obedience 
to  the  victorious  prelate, 
adored  the  cross  which  they 
had  burnt,  and  burnt  the 
idols  which  they  had  for- 
merly adored." 

A.  D.  496.  "WhenClovis 
ascended  from  the  baptiz- 
mal  font,  he  alone,  in  the 
Christian  world  deserved 
the  name  and  prerogatives 
of  a  Catholic  king.  For  the 
Emperor  Anastasius  enter- 
tained some  dangerous  er- 
rors concerning  the  nature 
of  the  divine  ii\carnation, 
and  the  kings  of  Italy,  Africa, 
Spain,  and  Gaul  were  in- 
volved in  Arianism."  Gib. 
iii.  461. 

•'The  conversion  of  Clo- 
vis  is  looked  upon  by  the 
learned  as  the  origin  ot  titles 
of  most  Christian  king,  and 
eldest  son  of  the  church, 
which  have  been  so  long  at- 
tributed to  the  king  of 
France ;  for  if  we  accept  this 
prince,  all  the  kings  of  those 
barbarous  nations,  who  had 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.      339 


dorsod;  and  the  Council  of 
Clialcedon  confirmed.  (See 
Reeves,  181.)  So  nicely 
could  they  steer  between 
heresy  and  the  heretic.  The 
doctrine  was  heresy,  but 
the  persons  were  orthodox. 
The  "  Pope "  was  on  both 
sides.  It  was  hard  to  know 
which  side  was  right. 

A.  D.  583.  "Childeric, 
king  of  the  Franks,  com- 
manded that  the  Trinity  be 
called  God  without  distinc- 
tion of  persons."  Jor.  iii.  42. 

A.  D.  585.  The  Council 
of  Macon  made  a  canon  that 
bishops  must  receive  hospi- 
tality, and  mastiffs  must  not 
be  kept  to  worry  beggars. 

A.  D.  590.  Coiurabanus, 
an  Irish  monk,  settled  in 
France,  turning  a  bear  out 
of  its  lair  to  get  possession. 

Pope  Gregory  the  Great 
was  eminent  for  exalting 
himself  and  defaming  hu- 
man learning.  (44.)  A  Ro- 
man lady  smiled  as  Gregory 
called  the  cake  she  had  just 
made  the  body  of  Christ. 

A.  D.  587.  The  Visgoths 
were  obliged  to  become 
Catholics.  "The  Arian  cler- 
gy were  generally  married 
men,  and  lived  with  their 
wives,  while  the  orthodox 
were  strenuous   contenders 


seized  the  Roman  provinces, 
were  either  yet  involved  in 
the  darkness  of  paganism, 
or  infected  with  the  Arian 
heresy."     Mosh.  i.  133. 

"  Clovis  was  the  only  Cath- 
olic prince  in  the  known 
world.  Anastasius,  Emperor 
of  the  East,  was  a  professed 
Eutychian.  Tlieodoric,  king 
of  the  Ostrogoths  in  Italy; 
Alaric,  king  of  the  Visgoths, 
master  of  all  Spain  and  the 
third  part  of  Gaul ;  the  kings 
of  the  Burgundians,  Sue  vians 
and  Vandals  in  Spain,  Gaul 
and  Africa,  were  all  zealous 
followers  of  Arius.  Clovis 
was  the  only  Catholic  king 
in  the  world,  but  the  first 
king  that  ever  embraced  the 
Catholic  religion.  Were  we 
to  compare  his  conduct  with 
that  of  the  Arian  King  Tlie- 
odoric, it  would  no  ways  re- 
dound to  the  honor  of  the 
Catholic  faith."  Bowers,  i. 
296. 

JUSTINIAN  PERSECUTIONS. 

Italy. — Though  the  Ro- 
man priests  had  long  con- 
tended for  the  errors  of  the 
Roman  Church,  the  people 
had  not  yet  adopted  them, 
especially  those  of  Northern 
Italy.  There  had  often  been 
murderous  edicts  promulga- 
ted against  them,  but  relief 
had  come,  sometimes  by  the 
death  of  a  ferocious  Theodo- 
sius,  and  sometimes  by  the 
triumph  of    such   Christian 


340 


CHURCH    HISTORY". 


for  the  celibacy  of  the  cler- 
gy. Those  who  would  not 
quit  their  Arianism  were  to 
be  instructed,  excommuni- 
cated, deprivations  of  places, 
confiscation  of  their  goods, 
banishments,"  etc.  Fleury, 
vii.  643-649.     Jor.  iii.  49. 

A.  D.  592.  A  council  in 
Spain  ordered  all  the  relics 
found  among  Arians  to  be 
presented  to  the  bishop  to 
be  tried  by  fire. 

POPES    OP   THE    SIXTH     CENTURY. 

"  A.  D.  514.  St.  Hormisdas 
was  a  married  man,  and  had 
a  son  who  was  afterward 
pope."     Bowers,  i.  310. 

'•  A.  D.  523.  St.  John  was 
sent  by  Theodoric,  the  Chris- 
tian, to  Constantinople  to 
plead  for  the  toleration  of 
*  Arianism.' " 

"A.  D.  526.  St.  Felix  IV. 
was  appointed  by  Theodoric 
the  Christian  king  against 
the  will  of  the  Cathblics." 

"A.  D.  530.  Pope  Boni- 
face II.  was  a  Goth.  Two 
popes  were  chosen ;  but 
Hormisdas  died.  Boniface 
first  made  the  priests  and 
bishops  swear  to  ordain  Vi- 
gilius  the  next  pope ;  but 
afterward  burned  the  docu- 
ments."    Du  Pin,  i.  542. 

"A.  D.  532.  Pope  John 
II.  appealed  to  Athahiric  the 
'Arian'  king,  with  tears  in 
his    eyes,    to     correct     the 


German  princes  as  Odoacer 
and  Theodoric. 

A.  D.  587.  Rome  betrayed. 
The  Catholics,  on  the  first 
approach  of  the  emperor's 
army,  boldly  raised  the  cry 
that  the  apostolic  throne  (!) 
should  no  longer  be  pro- 
faned by  the  triumph  or  tol- 
eration of  Arianism,  nor  the 
tombs  of  the  Caesars  tram- 
pled by  the  savages  of  the 
North;  and  deputies  of  the 
pope  and  clergy,  and  of 
what  is  called  the  senate 
and  people,  waited  upon  the 
approaching  army  to  whom 
they  threw  open  the  gates 
of  the  city;  and  the  Catholics 
were  rewarded  for  their 
treason  by  the  apparent  re- 
spect of  Belisarius  for  the 
pope.     Gib.  iv.  134. 

IMILAN  SEIZED. 

A.  D.  538.  When  Justin- 
ian first  meditated  the  con- 
quest of  Italy,  he  sent  am- 
bassadors to  the  king  of  the 
Franks,  and  adjured  them 
by  the  common  ties  of  alli- 
ance and  religion,  to  join  in 
the  holy  enterprise  against 
the  Arians.  The  Goths,  as 
their  wants  were  more  ur- 
gent, employed  a  more  ef- 
fectual mode  of  persuasion, 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.       341 


abuses  of  the  Catholic 
Church."     Bowers,  i.  333. 

"A.  D.  535.  Pope  Aga- 
petus  said  that 'one  of  the 
Trinity  suffered  in  tlie  flesh.' 
(Bowe'r§,  i.  337.)  A  Gothic 
scholar  urged  him  to  estab- 
lish a  Bible  school  in  Rome." 
Nean.  ii.  150. 

"A.  D.  536.  Pope  Sylves- 
ter was  the  son  of  Pope  Hor- 
misdas,  begotten  in  lawful 
wedlock;  he  was  driven 
from  his  see  to  make  room 
for  Vigilius."  Bowers,  i.  344. 

"A.^D.  548.  Pope  Vigil- 
ius was  a  Eutychian  heretic; 
he  mounted  the  papal  throne 
without  a  shadow  of  a  title 
— stole  into  St.  Peter's  chair 
like  a  thief."  Reeves,  180. 

"A.  D.  555.  Pope  Pela- 
gius  I.  was  chosen  amid  fac- 
tion, and  could  not  find  a 
Roman  bishop  to  consecrate 
him,  and  had  recourse  to  a 
bishop  of  Ostium.  He  ap- 
proved the  council  con- 
demned by  Vigilius."  Bar. 
vii.  575. 

"A.  D.  560.  Pope  John 
III.  was  chosen  after  a  va- 
cancy of  over  four  months." 
Bowers,  i.  374. 

"  A.  D.  575.  Pope  Bene- 
dict, was  chosen  after  a  va- 
cancy of  ten  months."  Bow- 
ers, i'.  380. 

"A.  D.  579.  Pope  Pela- 
gius  II.  was  a  traitor." 

"A.  D.  590.  Pope  Grego- 
ry the  Great  wrote  against 
the  title  of  universal  bishop, 
as  being  too  high  even  for 
an    apostle,  Born  1.119. 


and  vainly  strove,  by  the  gift 
of  lands  and  money,  to  jtur- 
chase  the  friendship,  or  at 
least  the  neutrality,  of  a 
light  and  perfidious  nation, 
the  Franks.  But  the  arms 
of  Belisarius,  and  a  revolt 
of  the  Italians,  had  no  soon- 
er shaken  the  Gothic  mon- 
archy in  Italy  than  Theode- 
bert,  of  Austrasia,  the  most 
powerful  and  warlike  of  the 
Merovingian  kings,  was  per- 
suaded to  succor  their  dis- 
tress by  an  indirect  and  rea- 
sonable aid.  Without  ex- 
pecting the  consent  of  their 
sovereign,  ten  thousand  Bur- 
gundians,  his  recent  subjects, 
descended  from  the  Alps 
and  joined  the  troops  which 
Vitiges  had  sent  to  chastise 
the  revolt  of  Milan.  After 
an  obstinate  siege  the  cap- 
ital of  Liguria  was  reduced. 

"But  the  clergy,  perhaps 
(why  perhaps?)  the  Arian 
clergy,  were  slaughtered  at 
the  foot  of  their  own  altars 
by  the  defenders  of  the 
Catholic  laith.  Three  hun- 
dred thousand  males  were 
reported  to  be  slain,  the  fe- 
male sex,  and  more  precious 
spoil,  being  resigned  to  the 
Burgundians,  and  the  houses, 
or  at  least  the  walls  of  Milan, 
were  leveled  with  the 
ground."     Gib.  iv.  149. 


342 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


THE  DARK  AGES. 

THE    SEVENTH    CENTURY. 

The  dark  ages  introduced  by  the  persecution  of  an  en- 
liglitened  Church  in  the  sanguinary  wars  of  Justinian  to 
exalt  the  Catholics,  continued  up  to  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury. It  was  a  long,  dark  night,  when  ignorance,  bigotry 
and  cruelty  reigned,  and  truth,  purity  and  justice  were 
crushed  out. 


A.  D.  629.  The  Emperor 
Heraclius  asked  the  bishops 
'"AVhether  Christ,  of  one 
person  but  two  natures,  was 
actuated  by  a  single  or  a 
double  will?'  The  Greeks 
in  general  favored  the  for- 
mer opinion,  but  not  with 
their  usual  impetuosity;  in- 
deed they  seem  at  length  to 
have  been  so  far  exhausted 
by  such  fruitless  contests, 
as  to  have  considered  the 
question  trifling  and  super- 
fluous."    Wad.  166. 

The  doctrine  of  one  will 
or  mind  in  Christ,  was  called 
Monothelitism. 

VI.*  The  Sixth  General 
Council  of  Constantinople, 
A.  D.  6Sl  (260  bishops), 
anathematized  the  deceased 
pope,  Honorius,  as  a  Mono- 
thelete  (holding  that  Christ 
had  but  one  will  or  mind). 
Jor.  iii.  61.  This  council 
established  two  wills  in  the 


A.  D.  601.  Christianity 
was  planted  in  China  by  the 
Nestorians. 

Justinian,  after  murder- 
ing many  hundred  thousands 
in  the  service  of  the  Roman 
Church,  was  himself  con- 
demned for  thinking  wrong 
on  a  point  of  the  new  and 
oft-additioned  creed,  and  he 
died  accursed  by  his  own 
Catholics.  "The  bishop  of 
Treves,  secure  beyond  the 
limits  of  his  power,  addressed 
him  thus :  Unless  you  de- 
stroy what  you  have  taught, 
unless  you  exclaim  with  a 
loud  voice,  I  have  erred,  I 
have  sinned,  anathema  to 
Nestorians,  anathema  to  Eu- 
tyches,  you  deliver  your 
soul  to  the  flames  in  which 
they  will  eternally  burn." 
But  he  died  accursed.  Such 
is  Heaven's  just  retribution, 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


343 


second  person  of  the  Trinity. 
Wad.  166. 

A.  D.  633.  The  Fourth 
Council  of  Toledo  made  sev- 
enty-five canons,  the  first 
of  which  was  respecting 
the  Trinity.     Jor.  iii.  53. 

«A.  D.  663.  The  Council 
of  Toledo  made  a  cruel  de- 
cree, that  all  the  children  of 
Jews  should  be  taken  away 
from  their  parents  and  put 
into  monasteries,  or  into  the 
hands  of  religious  persons, 
to  be  instructed  in  Chris- 
tianity." Fleury  H.  E.  viii. 
367.     Jor.  ii.  204. 

"A.D.  649.  The  Council 
of  Lateran  condemned  the 
Monotheletes.  Pope  Mar- 
tin presided.  It  anathema- 
tized Paul,  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople."    56. 

A.  D.  669.  A  synod  held 
at  Autim,  by  St.  Leger,  com- 
manded the  priests  to  com- 
mit the  Athanasian  Creed 
to  memory.  "No  easy  task." 
58. 

A.  D.  675.  Jortin  says: 
"The  Council  of  Toledo  was 
obliged  to  make  canons  to 
restrain,  in  some  measure, 
the  holy  bishops  of  those 
times,  who  were  equally 
guilty  of  robberies,  murders, 
assassinations,  fornications, 
adulteries,  and  such  sort  of 
bagatelles."    59. 

A.  D.  675.  And  "the 
Council  of  Prague,  at  the 
same   time   censured   those 


as  ye  mete  to  others  it  shall 
be  meted  to  you,  Gib.  iv. 
420. 

Yet,  during  this  time  it 
is  acknowledged  by  their 
friends,  that  the  internal 
state  of  the  Catholic  Church 
was  all  "dark  and  gloomy. 
Ignorance  and  superstition 
advanced  with  rapid  strides, 
Tlie  greatest  saints  contrib- 
uted to  it,  all  truth  and  god- 
liness were  supposed  to  be 
drawn  from  the  writings  of 
the  fathers;"  the  image  of 
the  Virgin  and  her  Son,  of 
apostles  and  saints,  were 
worshiped  instead  of  Thor 
and  Friga.  "The  corrupt 
lives  of  the  clergy  bore  a 
growing  proportion  to  the 
wealth  accumulated,"  etc. 
Haweis,  i.  335,  337,  341. 

THE    LOMBARDS. 

A.  D.  568.  The  Lombards 
(Germans)  from  Pamonia 
under  Alboinos  invaded  Ita- 
ly, and  made  themselves 
masters  of  the  whole  coun- 
try except  Rome  and  Rave- 
na.  Under  these  tyrants 
the  Christians  endured  ca- 
lamities of  every  kind.  But 
their  fury  gradually  sub- 
sided, and  their  manners 
contracted,  from  time  to 
time,    a    milder    character 


344 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


bishops  who  whipped  their 
presbyters  as  slaves  and 
dogs."     Jor.  iii.  59. 

"A.  D.  681.*  The  Sixth 
General  Council  of  Constan- 
tinople persecuted  the  Mo- 
notheletes,  and  anathema- 
tized the  deceased  pope,  Ho- 
norius,  as  having  been  guilty 
of  the  same  heresy.  Thus 
we  liave  the  vicar  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  infallible 
head  of  the  church  con- 
demned by  a  general  coun- 
cil for  the  crime  of  heresy." 
64. 

"The  persecuted  Monothe- 
letes  settled  about  Mt.  Li- 
banus,  and  are  now  called 
Marionites."  (Jor.  iii.  61.) 
Reeves,  the  Catholic,  makes 
a  stammering  and  vain  argu- 
ment to  prove  that  the  name 
of  Honorius  was  not  origin- 
ally in  the  condemnation. 
Reeves  says  also  :  "Their 
decree  is  formed  in  these 
words:  'We  define,  that  in 
Jesus  Christ  there  are  two 
natural  wills,  and  two  natu- 
ral operations,  and  we  forbid 
the  contrary  to  be  taught.' 

"In  the  censures  which 
this  council  passed  upon  the 
authors  and  abettors  of  Mo- 
nothelitism,  is  found  the 
name  of  Pope  Honorius.  *  *  * 
Hence  some  writers  have 
hastily  inferred,  that  Hono- 
rius  erred  in   faith,   taught 


Autharius,  the  third  mon- 
arch  of  the  Lombards,  em- 
braced Christianity,  as  it 
was  professed  by  the  Chris- 
tians in  587. 

Pope  Gregory  made  great 
efforts  to  bring  the  adhe- 
rents of  the  old'^eligion  to 
the  adoption  of  the  new 
creed.  To  this  end  he  gave 
particular  instructions  to 
the  Catholic  bishops  to  pros- 
elyte the  Arian  youth.  He 
corresponded  with  Theode- 
linda,  queen  of  the  Lombards, 
through  whom  he  brought 
about  the  apostacy  of  her 
husband  Aigilufus,  and  thus 
the  declension  of  the  whole 
nation.  Yet ''her  devout  la- 
bors still  left  her  room  for  in- 
dustry and  success  of  future 
missionaries,  and  many  cities 
of  Italy  were  still  disputed 
by  hostile  bishops.  The  con- 
troversy was  terminated  af- 
ter a  war  of  three  hundred 
years  by  the  conversion  of 
the  Lombards.    Gib.  iii.  450. 

Agilulf,  according  to  Mil- 
ner,  gave  "no  hopeful  idea 
of  the  real  conversion,  since 
he  still  ravaged  the  Roman 
territories,  and  filled  them 
with  misery  and  desolation, 
tying  the  Romans  like  dogs 
with  cords  and  dragging 
them  to   be   sold   as   slaves 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


345 


false  doctrine,  and  was  con- 
demned by  the  sixth  coun- 
cil as  a  formal  heretic.  This 
is  asserted  by  Nilus,  the 
Magdeburgers,  and  gener- 
ally by  all  those  who  impugn 
the  pope's  infallibility."  209. 

A.  D.  682.  Jortin  says: 
"Pope  Leo  anathematized 
among  other  heretics,  his 
predecessor  Honorius."  Fleu- 
ry,  ix.  67. 

A.  D.  6 83.  Another  Coun- 
cil of  Toledo  made  canons 
on  the  temporal  rights  of 
princes  and  subjects. 

A.  D.  692.  Two  hundred 
and  eleven  bishops  met  in 
Constantinople.  It  forbade 
bishops  to  live  with  wives ; 
but  permitted  to  priests, 
deacons,  and  sub-deacons, 
the  privilege.  Reeves,  211. 

This  is  called  by  Bede  the 
Stray  Synod.  It  was  de- 
clared a  general  council  in 
the  East.  The  decrees  of 
this  council  are  yet  in  the 
Greek  Church.  "  The  papists 
reject  this  council  as  for  oth- 
er good  reasons,  because  it 
permits  marriage  to  the 
clergy,"  etc.     Jor.  iii.  63. 

POPES    OF   THE  SEVENTH  CEN- 
TURY. 

A.  D.  604.  Pope  Sabianus 
was  odious  for  avarice,  and 


among  the  Franks."    Milner, 
i.  511. 

PERSECUTION    IN    AFRICA. 

Jortin  says  of  Justinian: 
"By  his  general,  Belisarius, 
he  conquered,  and  in  a  man- 
ner depopulated  Ai'ricn,  took 
Carthage,  and  destroyed  the 
dominion  of.  the  Vandals, 
and,  putting  an  end  to  Ari- 
anism  in  those  regions,   he 

"  Made  his  new  subjects  orthodox 
By  apostolic  blows  and  knocks." 

"Belisarius  proceeded  with- 
out delay  to  the  full  estab- 
lishment of  the  Catholic 
Church.  *  *  *  The  Ari- 
an  worship  was  suppressed, 
the  Donatist  meetings  were 
proscribed."    Gib.  iv.  115. 

Here  we  see  that  under 
the  mild  sway  of  those  called 
Arian,  the  Donatists  were 
not  proscribed  ;  but  the  Ro- 
mans destroyed  all. 

"  Hilderic,  the  king  of  the 
Vandals,  though  he  had 
promised  his  predecessor 
Thrasamond,  that  he  would 
never  open  the  churches  of 
the  Catholics  in  Africa,  and 
restore  them  their  privileges, 
yet  changed  his  mind,  and 
recalled  their  exiled  bish- 
ops and  gave  them  leave  to 
assemble,  but  yet  he  would 
not  join  himself  to  their 
communion.  At  the  same 
time  Theodoric  was  no  less 
favorable  to  them  in  Italy. 


346 


CHUKCH   HISTORY. 


cruelty  to  the  poor.    The  see 
was    vacant  eleven  months. 
Bowers,  i.  424. 
A.  D.  607.     Pope  Boniface 

III.  got  himself  proclaimed 
"universal  bishop,"  a  title 
condemned  by  Pope  Grego- 
ry the  Great,  as  "vain,  proud, 
profane,  impious,  execrable, 
heretical,  diabolical."  Bow- 
ers, i.  426. 

A.D.  608.     Pope  Boniface 

IV.  obtained  the  Pantheon 
of  Phocus,  and  changed  the 
Cybelle  to  Mary,  and  other 
goddesses  and  gods  to  other 
saints.     Bowers,  i.  428. 

A.D.616.  Pope  Deusdeit, 
chosen  after  a  vacancy  of 
five  months,  declared  that 
where  man  and  wife  stand 
sponsers  for  a  child,  their 
marriage  is  annulled.  Bow- 
ers, i.  429. 

A.D.  620.    Pope  Boniface 

V.  This  was  the  era  of  the 
rise  of  Mohammedanism. 

A.  D.  625.  Pope  Honori- 
us  was  a  "  Monothelite  her- 
etic," liolding  to  but  one  will 
in  Clirist.  (Bowers,  i,  434.) 
Reeves  pleads  for  him.  p. 
207. 

A.  D.  640.  Pope  Severi- 
nus  was  chosen  after  a  va- 
cancy of  one  year. 

A.D.  642.  Pope  John  IV. 
condemned  tlie  doctrine  of 


"On  the  contrary,  Hor- 
misdas,  the  pope,  persecuted 
the  Manicheans,  and  caused 
them  to  be  whipped,  and 
then  banished;  and  Jus- 
tinian,the  emperor,  oppressed 
all  the  heretics  in  his  domin- 
ions. He  began  to  treat  the 
Arians  cruelly,  but  Theodo- 
ric  protected  them  by  threat- 
ening that  he  would  use  re- 
prisals. 

BARBARITY — CUTTING  TONGUES. 

The  following  barbarous 
persecution  is  too  horrible 
to  relate^  but  duty  compels 
me  to  notice  it.  As  all  the 
books  of  the  "  Arians  "  were 
burned,  we  must  rely  only 
upon  the  veracity  of  those 
who  burned  them.  They 
say— 

"Severus,  bishop  of  Anti- 
och,  continued  to  pour  out 
his  anathemas  against  the 
Council  of  Chalcedon.  An 
order  was  issued  by  the 
Catholics  to  cut  out  his 
tongue."     Evagrius,  632. 

''That  Hunneric,  king  of 
the  Vandals,  gave  leave  to 
the  Cotisubstantialists  at 
Carthage  to  choose  a  bishop 
at  the  request  of  the  Emper- 
or Zeno,  but  it  was  upon 
conditiou  that  the  Arians 
should  be  unmolested  in  the 
East,  else  he  declared  that 
he  would  use  reprisals.  The 
Catholics,  therefore,  in  Af- 
rica chose  Eugenius  for  their 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.       347 


one  will  in  Christ.  Bowers, 
i.  439. 

A.  D.  643.  Pope  Theodo- 
rus  wrote  the  condemnation 
of  Phyrrhus,  with  ink,  mixed 
with  the  consecrated  wine 
of  the  Eucharist.  Bowers, 
i.  445. 

A.  D.  649.  Pope  Martin. 
This  traitor  died  in  Cherso- 
nesius.     Reeves,  207. 

A.  D.  654.  Pope  Eugenius 
was  chosen  after  a  vacancy 
of  more  than  a  year. 

A.  I).  657.  Pope  Vitalia- 
nus  was  a  servile  flatterer. 
Bowers,  i.  461. 

A.  D.  672.  Pope  Adeo- 
datus.  Strange  as  it  may 
seem,  this  pope  was  a  good 
man. 

A.  D.  677.  Pope  Donus 
was  a  man  of  no  note. 

A.  D.  679.  Pope  Agatho. 
In  his  day  was  lield  what  is 
palmed  upon  the  world  as 
the  sixth  general  council ; 
where  Apollinaris  was  con- 
demned, cursed,  abused,  and 
violently  driven  out  of  the 
assembly,  as  a  Monothelete; 
they  condemned  as  heretics, 
also  Honorius,  Sergius,  Ihe- 
odorus,  and  others.  Bowers, 
i.  478. 

A.  D.  682.  Pope  Leo  II. 
acknowledged   the    council, 


bishop,  a  man  who  bore  a 
good  character,  and  is  ex- 
tolled by  Victor,  particularly 
for  his  great  charity  to  the 
poor.  But  Hunneric,  after- 
terward  growing  cruel,  ban- 
ished Eugenius,  and  perse- 
cuted the  Consubstantial- 
ists.  He  ordered  that  some 
of  them  should  lose  their 
right  hands,  and  have  their 
tongues  cut  out;  and  they 
spake  as  plainly  alter  it  as 
they  did  before,  if  Ave  may 
believe  Victor,  and  Marcel- 
linus  Comes,  and  also  Pro- 
copius."     Jor.  ii.  232. 

But  the  learned  author 
adds: 

"The  miracle  of  the  con- 
fessors, who,  in  those  daj'^s, 
spake  plainly,  after  their 
tongues  were  cut  out  by  the 
persecuting  Arians,  is  also 
attested  by  Evagrius,  iv.  L4. 
Other  miracles  of  this  kind 
are  related  in  latter  history, 
and  are  equally  improbable. 

In  the  GTironicon  Saxoni- 
cum^  which  is  a  collection 
of  things,  some  useful,  and 
some  of  small  moment,  we 
are  told  that  Pope  Leo  the 
Third  was  deposed  by  the 
Romans,  who  cut  out  his 
tongue  and  pulled  out  his 
eyes  (A.  D.  797),  and  that 
he  saw  and  talked  after  this 
as  well  as  he  did  before." 
Jor.  ii.  232. 

Haweis,  a  learned  historian 

who  hated  all  Arians,  says  : 

"I  may  not  here  pass  over 


348 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


and  tlie  con;ieinnation  of 
Pope  Honorius,  and  anathe- 
matized hin\.  Bowers,  i.  486. 
Jor.  iii.  62. 

Which  pope  was  infalli- 
ble ? 

A.  D.  685.   Pope  Benedict. 

A.  D.  686.  Pope  John  V. 
The  Saracens  were  now  over- 
running much  of  Christen- 
dom. 

A.  D.  687.  Pope  Conon 
was  a  mere  cipher. 

A.  D.  688.  Pope  Sergius. 
During  this  time  the  Quini- 
Bext  Council  decided  that 
if  any  presumed  to  deprive ' 
the  clergy  of  the  lawful  com- 
pany of  their  wives  they 
should  be  deposed.  Bowers, 
i.  494. 

COUNCILS    OF    THE    EIGHTH  CEN- 
TURY. 

A.  D.  741.  Constantius 
Copronymus  began  to  reign. 
He  opposed  image  idolatry, 
and  rebels  deposed  him ;  but 
he  recovered  his  throne  and 
reigned  thirty-four  years, 
hated  and  traduced  by  Cath- 
olics. 

A.  D.  752.  Childeric  was 
king.  Pepin  applied  to  Pope 
Zachary,  and  he  absolved 
the  people  and  the  perjured 
populace  chose  Pepin  for 
their    king,    and   his   house 


a  very  disputed  fact  of  Arian 
cruelty,  and  Catholic  ortho- 
doxy vindicated  by  a  mir- 
acle, even  the  enabling  those 
Christians,  whose  tongues 
were  plucked  out  by  the 
roots  by  the  Vandal  king  to 
recover  and  speak  as  plainly 
as  ever  in  vindication  of  the 
deity  of  Christ.  The  histor- 
ical testimonies  of  the  fact 
are  said  to  be  respectable; 
but  the  spirit  of  the  times, 
I  must  confess,  forbids  me  to 
be  credulous.  I  demur  to 
the  witnesses;  I  suspect  fal- 
lacy in  the  examination,  or 
falsehood  in  the  fact.  Pious 
frauds  had  now  found  such 
vindicators  as  Ambrose,  Je- 
rome, and  others,  that  it  had 
become  meritorious  to  exalt 
orthodoxy  by  any  means." 
i.  316. 

There  is  no  reason  for  giv- 
ing any  credit  to  Catholic 
testimony.  Men  who  burn 
their  enemies  and  destroy 
their  books  are  not  to  be 
believed,  and  when  their 
friends  doubt  the  chronicle 
we  may  well  discredit  the 
story.  "  Of  tritling  disputes 
carried  on  with  amazing 
fury  in  those  days,  a  good 
account  may  be  found  in 
Du  Pin.  He  (Justinian) 
spent  his  time  in  examining 
and  deciding  such  *  *  * 
controversies  instead  of  ap- 
plying to  state  affairs."     Pro- 


ROMAN    CIIURC[I. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.        319 


reigned  till  A.  D.  987.  Pe- 
pin, in  gratitude  to  the  pope, 
wrested  from  the  Lombards, 
in  755,  the  exarchate  of  Ra- 
vena,  with  Bologne,  Ferara, 
Pentapolis,  with  twenty-two 
towns,  and  conferred  them 
upon  Pope  Stephen  III. 
Reeves  says:  "During  the 
first  seven  centuries  the  See 
of  Rome  had  no  other  tem- 
poral possessions  than  such 
as  were  bequeathed  to  it, 
from  time  to  time,  by  the 
liberality  of  the  faithful." 
Reeves,  225. 

A.  D,  754.  A  council  con- 
demned the  painted  and 
wooden  gods  ;  and  Pope  Ste- 
phen II.  exhorted  Pepin  of 
France,  to  make  war  on  tlie 
empire.  Pope  Stephen  "made 
use  of  a  trick  and  sent 
him  a  letter  written  by  St. 
Peter  requiring  him  to  as- 
sist the  See  of  Rome  under 
pain  of  damnation.  Pepin 
conquered,  and  gave  the 
pope  twenty-two  cities.  Jor. 
iii.  73,  75. 

At  the  time  of  this  writing, 
September  2,  1870,  the  pru- 
sinns  have  captured   Kapo- 
leon. 

A.  D.  757.  A  Council  at 
Compiegne  allowed  divorce 
on  proof  of  leprosy 


copius,  in  his  history  of  those 
times,  speaks  with  due  con- 
tempt and  detestation  of  the 
theological  war,  which  then 
raged,  with  so  much  folly 
and  violence,  and  blames 
Justinian  for  stripping  her- 
etics of  their  possessions,  and 
putting  them  to  death.  "He 
represents  the  emperor  and 
his  wife  as  two  devils  incar- 
nate, sent  into  the  world  for 
the  destruction  of  mankind." 
Jor.  iii.  5-7. 

While  slaughtering  his  sub- 
jects, he  built  a  church  aiid 
sent  to  the  pope  ibr  some 
linen  "which  had  laid  near 
the  bodies  of  St.  Paul  and  Pe- 
ter, and  some  filings  of  the 
chains  of  the  apostles  and 
of  the  gridiron  of  St.  Law- 
rence." "Justinian's  zeal 
against  pagans  and  heretics 
was  suspected  of  self  inter- 
est, since  he  was  a  gainer  by 
the  confiscation  of  the  for- 
tunes of  such  person?.. 

The  churches  of  the  her- 
etics, those  he  gave  to  the 
orthodox."     p.  28. 

The  next  paragraph  shows 
how  the  Christians  had  re- 
covered from  the  persecu- 
tion under  Tiieodosins.  Jor- 
tin  quotes  from  Fleury,  the 
Catholic  :  "  Now  the  churches 
were  very  rich,  particularly 


350 


CnURCU    HISTORY. 


POPES  OF  THE  EIGHTH  CENTURY. 

A.  D.  701.  Pope  John  VI. 
sustained  Wilfred  against 
the  council.  The  authority 
of  the  priests  increased  rap- 
idly in  the  West,  the  con- 
verted Celts  giving  the  pope 
the  place  "and  powers  of 
the  high  priest  of  the  Druids, 
or  of  the  sovereign  pontiff, 
whose  authority  had  been 
incredible."    Jor.  iii.  65. 

A.  D.  705.  Pope  John  VII. 
Catholics  think  that  his  be- 
ing called  a  woman,  in  con- 
tempt, gave  rise  to  the  fa- 
ble of  a  female  poj)e.  Bow- 
ers, ii.  13. 

A.  D.  707.  Pope  Sisinni- 
us  is  noted  for  undertaking 
the  rebuilding  of  the  wall 
of  Eome,  and  having  the 
gout. 

A.  D.  708.  Pope  Constan- 
tius  opposed  Philipj^icus  the 
Monothelite  emperoi 

A.  D.  715.  Pope  Gregory 
II.  sided  with  the  image- 
mongers.  Upon  this  a  re- 
volt ensued.  "The  emper- 
or was  too  ignorant  to  com- 
prehend the  difference  be- 
tween absolute  worship  and 
relative  worship."  Jor.  iii. 
69.  Nor  does  the  second 
commandment     distinguish 


those  of  the  Arians.  They 
had  great  treasures  of  plate 
and  other  precious  things, 
and  also  great  revenues  of 
lands  and  houses."     p.  29. 

The  next  part  of  the  sen- 
tence from  Fleury  shows  the 
spirit  of  those  Christians 
slanderously  called  Arians. 
He  saA^s : 

"Many  poor  people  even 
amongst  the  Catholics  had 
been  maintained  out  of 
them."     p.  29. 

The  next  clause  shows  the 
despair  to  wdiich  the  people 
were  reduced : 

"  Some  out  of  despair  killed 
themselves."  "  Montanists 
shut  themselves  up  in  their 
own  churches  and  set  them 
on  fire."  Samaritans  in  Pal- 
estine "raised  a  rebellion 
which  was  attended  with 
horrible  disorder  and  blood- 
shed."    Jor.  iii.  29. 

PERSECUTION  IN  SPAIN. 

"A.  D.  583.  Leovigildus, 
king  of  Spain,  was  of  the 
Arian  sect,  and  a  prince  of 
no  bad  character.  His  son 
Hermenigildus  rebelled 
against  him,  and  Baronius 
commends  him  for  it,  l)e- 
caiise,  says  he,  /its  father 
was  a  heretic.  What  cursed 
divinity  is  this.  Be  wise 
now  therefore,  O  ye  kings; 
be  learned  ye  that  are  judges 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


fURISTIAN   CHURCH.      851 


the  difference.  Nor  yet  Mo- 
ses, Exodus  32:  20.  Grego- 
ry gave  to  Leo  neither  hon- 
or nor  worship,  hut  caused 
the  tribute  to  be  witheld ; 
and  excommunicated  liim, 
and  cursed  him  as  a  Jieretic, 
absolving  the  people  from 
allegiance  to  him,  and  seized 
Rome  and  its  territories  lor 
St.  Peter.  (Jor.  iii.  70.)  Bo- 
niface, an  Englishman,  said : 
"Formerly  the  church  had 
golden  j^riests  and  a  wooden 
chalice  :  now  she  has  wood- 
en priests  and  golden  chal- 
ices." 

A.  D.  731.  Pope  Gregory 
III.  was  made  a  saint  for  de- 
fending image  worship. 

A.  D.  741.  Pope  Zachary 
encouraged  the  French  na- 
tion in  perjury  and  rebel- 
lion ;  and  crowned  Pepin  the 
usurper;  for  which  Pepin 
rewarded  the  popedom,  es- 
pecially in  Stephen  III. 
Reeves,  222-4. 

A.  D.  752.  Pope  Stephen 
II. 

A.  D.  752.  Pope  Stephen 
III.  In  755  he  "made  use  of 
a  trick."  He  sent  to  Pepin 
of  France  a  "  letter  written 
by  St.  Peter,  requiring  hint 
to  assist  the  See  of  Rome 
under  pain  of  excommuni- 
cation.    Jortin,  iii,  75. 


of  the  earth.  Beware  of 
such  teachers."     Jor.  iii.  40. 

While  Romanism  was  be- 
ing planted  in  the  empire 
all  possible  means  seem  to 
have  been  taken  to  send 
monks  under  the  authority 
of  the  imperial  laws  into  all 
parts  of  the  world  with  the 
power  to  oppress  Christians, 
harass  the  preacher,  and 
break  np  the  peace  of  so- 
ciety by  encouraging  the 
profligate  to  destroy  worthy 
citizens  who  rejected  their 
new  religion. 

Picture  of  Spain  when 
Catholic:  "It  seemed  as  if 
the  inhabitants  had  entirely 
taken  leave  of  reason;  the 
streets  were  filled  with 
drunkards;  infested  with 
every  snare  against  chasti- 
ty; adulteries  and  the  most 
abominable  impurities  were 
the  commonest  of  all  things, 
and  they  were  publicly  prac- 
ticed with  the  extreme  of 
imprudence.  The  orphans 
and  the  widows  were  op- 
pressed, and  the  poor  were 
tortured  to  such  despair 
that  tliey  prayed  to  God  to 
deliver  the  city  to  the  bar- 
barians. Blasphemies  and 
impiety  reigned ;  professed 
Christians  at  heart  Pagans! 
worshiped  the  celestial  god- 
dess  with    entire   devotion. 


Waddington,  p.  127. 


352 


CHURCH  HISTORY. 


TEMPORAL  POWER  OF  THE  POPE. 


The  Pope,  coveting  the  world,  enters  into  a  conspiracy 
with  the  enemies  of  the  empire;  for  the  price  of  his  treach- 
ery receiving  an  earthly  crown.  Tlie  result  was  the  trans- 
formation of  the  corporation  of  the  Roman  Church  into  a 
vast  spiritual  empire,  and  massing  new  i^owers  to  crush  the 
truth. 

"  Leovigild,  the  Gothic 
monarch  of  Spain,  deserved 
the  respect  of  his  enemies, 
and  the  love  of  his  subjects. 
The  Catholics  enjoyed  a  free 
toleration,  and  the  Arian 
Synods  attempted,  without 
much  success,  to  reconcile 
their  scruples  by  abolishing 
the  unpopular  rite  of  a  sec- 
ond baptism.  His  son  mar- 
ried an  orthodox  princess," 
who  was  received,  beloved, 
and  of  course  persecuted, 
for  all  the  Catholic  saints 
have  been  persecuted  in  the 
Arian  Court  of  Toledo.  Gib. 
iii.  448.  Between  this  girl 
and  a  popish  bishop  of  Se- 
ville, not  only  Hermenigild- 
us,  whom  his  father  had  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  the  gov- 
ernment, but  also  his  brother, 
were  seduced  to  the  Catholic 
faith.  "The  rash  youth,  in- 
flamed by  zeal,  and  perhaps 
by   ambition,   was    tempted 


PEPIN,  THE  POPE  MAKER. 

Pepin,  father  of  the  Pope- 
Kings,  marched  into  Italy. 
The  first  Pope  King  wad- 
ed to  his  usurped  throne 
through  blood.  "In  the  year 
755,  the  valiant  monarch  ol 
France  wrested  from  the 
Lombards  the  exarchate  of 
Ravena,  with  the  greater 
part  of  its  dependencies,  Bo- 
logne,  Ferrera,  and  Pentop- 
olis,  which  stretches  along 
the  Adriatic  coast  from  Rim- 
ini to  Ancona,'-  etc.  "He 
bestowed  the  whole  upon 
Pope  Stephen  III.  During 
the  first  seven  centuries  the 
See  of  Rome,  like  other 
episcopal  sees,  had  no  other 
temporal  possessions  than 
such  as  were  bequeathed 
to  it  from  time  to  time.    *  * 

A.  D.  757.  Pope  Paul, 
brother  of  Stephen,  sent  Pe- 
pin a  night  clock.     A  clock 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      353 


that  wanted  not  the  sun, 
but  probably  Avent  on  wheels 
like  ours.    Jor.  iii.  76. 

A.  D.  757.  Pope  Paul  was 
brother  to  Stephen. 

A.  1).  768.  Pope  Stephen 
IV.  This  year  King  Pepin 
died. 

A.  D.  772.  Pope  Adrian 
favored  image  worship;  ex- 
cited war  and  robbery ;  ap- 
pealed to  Charlemagne  of 
France,  who  subdued  the 
Lombards  in  774,  and  to  re- 
pay the  pope,  for  his  influ- 
ence, by  which  war  and  rob- 
bery were  sanctified  and 
made  religious,  he  gave  him 
part  of  the  domain  of  the 
Lombards.  The  new  church 
was  much  agitated  on  the 
question  whether  the  Son 
of  God  was  a  Son  by  nature 
or  adoption.  The  latter  idea 
was  supported  by  Archbish- 
op Elipand,  Bishop  Felix  of 
Spain,  and  others.  A  coun- 
cil met  A.  D.  794:,  and  con- 
demned it.     Reeves,  231. 

A.  D.  795.  Pope  Leo  IIL 
L*ene  the  empress  had  con- 
demned image  worship.  So 
Pope  Leo  crowned  Charle- 
magne emperor  of  the  Ro- 
mans, and  thus  the  empire 
was  divided,  and  Rome 
linked  to  France  instead  of 
Constantinople.  It  is  said 
23 


to  violate  the  duties  of  a  son 
and  a  subject ;  and  the  Cath- 
olics of  Spain,  although  they 
could  not  complain  of  per- 
secution, apjilauded  his 
pious  rebellion  against  an 
heretical  father.  He  invited 
the  orthodox  Barbarians,  the 
Suevi,  and  of  the  Franks,  to 
the  destruction  of  his  native 
land;  he  solicited  the  dan- 
gerous aid  of  the  Romans, 
who  possessed  Africa  and  a 
part  of  the  Spanish  coast, 
and  his  lioly  ambassador,  the 
Archbishop  Leander,  effect- 
ually negotiated  in  person 
at  the  Byzantine  court ;  but 
the  hopes  of  the  Catholics 
were  crushed  by  the  active 
diligence  of  a  monarch  whO' 
commanded  the  troops  and 
the  treasures  of  Spain.  Her- 
menigildus  was  obliged  to 
surrender  himself  into  the 
hands  of  an  incensed  father. 
Leovisild  was  still  mindful 
of  that  sacred  character,, 
and  the  rebel,  despoiled  of 
the  regal  ornaments,  was- 
stiil  permitted  in  decent  ex.- 
ile  to  profess  the  Catholic 
creed."     Gib.  iii.  449. 

He  repeated  his  unnatural 
but  truly  Catholic  rebellion, 
and  was  executed,  and  is 
now,  of  course,  St.  Herman- 


354 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


that  this  pope's  eyes  and 
tongue  being  put  out,  or 
pulled  out,  were  miraculous- 
ly restored;  this  is  doubtful. 
(Reeves,  232.  Bowers,  i.  176, 
192.)  He  was  opposed  to 
adding  Filioque  to  the  creed 
as  not  every  true  doctrine 
is  to  be  inserted  in  a  creed. 
(Fieury,  x.  100.)  He  used 
over  800  pounds  of  gold,  and 
21,000  pounds  of  silver  in 
repairing  the  churches.  A 
council  in  England  decreed 
''they  shall  not  only  pour 
water  on  the  head  of  the 
children,  but  shall  plunge 
them  into  the  laver.  This 
shows  that  immersion  was 
going  out  of  practice."  Flou- 
ry, x.  194.     Jor.  iii.  87. 

COUNCILS  OF  THE  NINTH  CEN- 
TURY. 

A.  D.  809.  A  council  at 
Aix-la-Chapelle  insisted  on 
inserting  the  Filioque  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  (proceeding 
from  the  Son)  into  the  creed. 
Pope  Leo  HI.  opposed  it, 
eaying:  '■'■Every  doctrine 
that  is  true  is  not^  therefore^ 
to  he  inserted  in  a  confession 
of  faith:'     Jor.  iii.  82. 

A.  D.  861.  The  great  and 
learned  Photius,  the  most 
remarkable  man  of  his  age, 


igildus,  canonized  by  that 
bloody  church  for  rebelling 
against  an  indulgent  father. 

A.    D.     589.      FIRST    CATHOLIC 
KING  OF  SPAIN. 

Upon  the  death  of  his  fa- 
ther, Recared  succeeded  to 
the  throne,  who,  assembling 
the  Arian  clergy  and  nobles, 
declared  himself  a  Catholic, 
and  proposed  two  argu- 
ments: "First.  The  earth 
had  submitted  to  the  Nicene 
Creed.  Second,  that  the 
Catholic  clergy  performed 
miraculous  cures."  lb.  iii. 
450. 

The  Arians  "still  retained 
a  very  jDowerful  party  in 
Spain,  which  was  not  des- 
tined to  be  otherwise  ex- 
tinguished than  by  the  ac- 
cession of  an  orthodox  mon- 
arch (such  was  Kecared), 
and  that  prince  pursued  his 
victory  both  in  Spain  and 
Narboness  Gaul,,  with  so 
much  diligence  and  rigor, 
that  after  some  sanguinary 
tumults  and  barbarous  ex- 
ecutions, the  great  body  of 
his  subjects  ranged  them- 
selves under  his  doctrine." 
Wad.  101. 

Such  were  the  triumphs 
of  the  Catholic  sword.  Do 
you  ask,  but  did  not  both 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      355 


became  bishop  of  Constan- 
tinople. 

*A.  D.  869,  October  5.  «  A 
General  Council"  of  a  few 
men  (260),  in  the  pope's  in- 
terest, met  by  the  Emperor 
Basil's  permission,  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Sophia,  Con- 
stantinople, to  depose  Pho- 
tius. 

Reeves  says:  "Photius 
appeared  with  all  the  affec- 
tation of  spotless  innocence 
and  observed  a  sullen  si- 
lence, or,  if  he  answered  any 
question,  it  was  in  the 
words  of  our  blessed  Savior 
to  Pilate.  He  was  condemn- 
ed, excommunicated  by  the 
council,  and  banished  by 
the  emperor."  (Reeves,  260, 
261.)  But  some  fifteen 
years  after  he  assembled  a 
council  of  380  bishops,  all 
devoted  to  his  interests,  who 
in  the  same  church  chose 
Photius  as  their  president, 
and  he  was  reinstated.  This 
is  called  bj-  some  the  Eighth 
General  Council.  The  high 
misdemeanor  of  Photius  was 
that  he  was  too  learned  and 
too  independent  to  bow  to 
the  bishops  of  Rome.  See 
Reeves,  263.    Gib.  v.  49. 

A.  D.  878.  The  Council 
of  Troyes  decreed  that  no 
person  shall  sit  in  the  pres- 


sides  persecute  ?  Wadding- 
ton  says :  "  It  is  true  that 
the  Arians  were  more  len- 
ient in  their  treatment  of 
other  heretics,  whereas  the- 
Catholics  persecuted  univer- 
sally."    Wad.  103. 

TOLERATION. 

The  sects  by  forming  com- 
binations for  mutual  support 
and  encouragement,  shared 
not  only  the  blessings  com- 
mon to  all,  but  monopolized 
special  favors  from  all  of 
their  own  creed,  and  were 
brought  to  act  in  concert 
for  attack,  defense,  support, 
or  strength.  The  Christians 
had  no  exclusive  combina- 
tions. To  be  a  Christian 
subjected  one  to  constant 
danger.  The  Catholic  was 
ever  ready  to  denounce  or 
slay  him ;  and  on  the  acces- 
sion of  a  Catholic  prince 
deprive  him  of  his  property 
and  his  life.  None  of  these 
evils  attended  the  profes- 
sion of  Romanism  since  the 
Catholic,  as  a  general  thing, 
was  equally  safe  under  a 
Christian  or  a  Catholic  king. 
Yet  Reeves  saj^s  that  ''Arian- 
ism  everywhere  prevailed." 
p.  183.  And  Reeves  was  a 
Catholic. 

"  Theodoric  was  an  Arian, 


S56 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


ence    of    a   bishop   without 
his  permission. 

A.  D.  896.  Pope  Stephen 
VII. held  a  council  condem- 
ning Pope  Formosus,  his  pre- 
decessor. He  had  his  body- 
dug  up  and  brought  before 
his  throne,  in  its  popish 
robes,  and  an  advocate  to  as- 
sist the  corpse  thus  brought 
to  judgment.  Then  Pope  Ste- 
phen said  to  the  carcass  be- 
fore the  council:  "Bishop 
of  Porto,  how  didst  thou 
dare  hsurp  the  See  of  Pome?" 
He  then  excommunicated 
him,  and  the  sacred  habit 
was  stripped  off  the  corpse, 
and  three  fingers  were  cut 
from  its  right  hand,  and  it 
was  flung  into  the  Tiber. 
Pope  Stephen  was  soon  con- 
demned, expelled,  loaded 
with  chains,  cast  into  a  dun- 
geon, and  strangled.  Jor.  iii. 
106. 

POPES    OF   THE  NINTH  CENTURY. 

A.  D.  816.  Pope  Stephen 
V.  was  a  pretty  good  man 
for  a  pope. 

A.  D.  817.  Pope  Pascha- 
lis  told  the  monks  that  to 
suffer  in  defense  of  images 
was  to  suffer  for  Christ. 

A.  D.  824.     Pope  Eugeii- 


but  left  every  one  free  to  fol- 
low the  dictates  of  his  own 
conscience,  as  his  predeces- 
sor had  done.  He  is  even 
celebrated  for  the  protec- 
tion he  gave  to  Catholics 
against  his  Arian  officers, 
and  for  his  other  princely 
virtue."     Reeves,  p.  182. 

Gregory  says  "  the  Lom- 
bards, uninfluenced  by  the 
example  of  the  court,  still 
continued  their  attachment 
of  the  doctrines  of  Arius. 
The  scepter,  no  longer 
swayed  by  the  hands  of  a 
Arm  Consubstantialist,  was 
transferred  to  the  valiant 
Rotharis,  a  zealous  Arian. 
His  regard  to  justice  was  not, 
however,  in  this  instance 
less  conspicuous  than  in  the 
other  transactions  of  his 
reign:  he  forbore  to  compel 
his  Catholic  subjects  to  the 
violation  of  their  conscien- 
ces by  an  external  profes- 
sion of  his  own  religious 
creed;  but  in  all  the  cities 
of  his  dominions  permitted 
the  appointment  of  two  bish- 
ops, an  Arian  and  a  Consub- 
stantiaUst."     Gregory  199. 

A.  D.  633.  Jortin  says: 
"Rotharis,  king  of  the  Lom^ 
bards,  was  remarkable  for 
valor,  and  for  the  love  of 
justice.  He  was  an  Arian, 
and  almost  all  the  cities  in 
the  dominions  had  two  bish- 
ops, the  one  an  Arian,  the 
other  a  Consubstantialist 
(Trinitarian),   which   shows 


ROMAN  CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.      357 


ius  II.  assembled  a  council 
at  Paris,  A.  D.  825,  which 
condemned  Pope  Adrian's 
view  of  image  worship.  Bow- 
ers, ii.  206. 

A.  D.  827.  Pope  Valenti- 
us  only  reigned  from  thirty 
to  forty  days. 

A.  D.  828.  Pope  Gregory 
IV.  encouraged  Lotharius,  of 
France,  to  rebel  against  his 
father.     Bowers,  ii.  211. 

A.  D.  844.  Pope  Sergius 
II.  permitted  the  duke  of 
Benevento  to  kiss  his  toe, 
and  robbed  the  grave  for 
relics. 

A.  D.  847.  Pope  Leo  VI. 
rebuilt  the  wall  around 
Rome. 

A.  D.  853.  Pope  Joan.  Mos- 
heim  says:  "Between  the 
pontificate  of  Leo  IV.,  who 
died  in  855,  and  that  of  Ben- 
edict III.,  a  certain  woman, 
who  artfully  disguised  her 
Bex  for  a  considerable  time, 
is  said,  by  learning,  genius, 
and  dexterity,  to  have  made 
good  her  way  to  the  papal 
chair,  and  to  have  governed 
the  church  with  the  title 
and  dignity  of  pontiff  about 
two  years.  This  extraordi- 
nary person  is  yet  known  by 
the  title  of  Pope  Joan.  Dur- 
ing the  five  succeeding  cen- 
turies the  event  was  gene- 
rally believed,  and  a  vast 
number  of  writers  bore  tes- 
timony to  its  truth ;  nor  be- 


the  moderation  of  Rotharis." 
iii.  54. 

Waddington  says:  "la 
Gaul,  in  Spain,  and  in  Italy, 
the  Gothic  princes  appear 
seldom  to  have  persecuted 
their  Catholic  subjects,  ex- 
cept in  retaliation  for  some 
outrage  exercised  against 
the  Arians  by  the  Catholic 
emperors  of  Constantinople. 
But  in  Africa  the  Vandal 
Arians  were  guilty  of  horri- 
ble excesses  during  the  last 
half  of  the  fifth  century, 
which  were  not  terminated 
until  their  expulsion  by 
Belisarius  in  the  year  530. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  all 
those  provinces  the  Cath- 
olic population,  whether 
persecuted  or  not,  seems  al- 
umys  to  have  been  eqiially 
disposed  to  rise  in  favor  of 
a  Catholic  invader.  But  we 
should  here  recollect  that 
the  distinction  of  Arian  and 
Catholic  was  in  general  so 
closely  connected  with  that 
of  Barhorian  and  Roman^ 
conqueror  and  conquered, 
that  we  can  scarcely  say  how 
much  of  this  we  should  at- 
tribute to  religious,  and  how 
much  to  national,  animosity. 
Upon  the  whole,  we  have 
little  reason  to  give  the 
praise  of  moderation,  or  even 
humanity,  to  either  party; 
much  depended  on  the  per- 
sonal character  of  the  prin- 
ces on  either  side,  and  on 
the  principles  or  prejudices 
in  which  they  had  been  ed- 
ucated.    But  in  as  far  as  the 


358 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


fore  the  reformation  under- 
taken by  Luther,  was  it  con- 
sidered by  any,  either  as  in- 
credible in  itself,  or  as  dis- 
graceful to  the  church.  But, 
in  the  last  century,  the  ele- 
vation, and  indeed  the  ex- 
istence of  the  female  pon- 
tiff, became  the  subject  of  a 
keen  and  learned  contro- 
versy. 

"  It  will  appear  more  than 
probable  that  some  unusual 
event  must  have  happened 
at  Rome,  from  which  this 
story  derived  its  origin,  be- 
cause it  is  not  at  all  credi- 
ble, from  any  principles  of 
moral  evidence,  that  an 
event  should  be  universally 
believed  and  related  in  the 
same  manner  by  a  multitude 
of  historians,  during  five 
centuries  immediately  suc- 
ceeding its  supposed  date, 
if  that  event  had  been  abso- 
lutely destitute  of  all  foun- 
dation. But  what  it  was 
that  gave  rise  to  this  story 
is  yet  to  be  discovered,  and 
is  likely  to  remain  uncertain. 

'•The  enormous  vices  that 
must  have  covered  so  many 
pontiffs  with  infamy  in  the 
judgment  of  the  wise, 
formed  not  the  least  obsta- 
cle to  their  ambition  in  these 
miserable  times,  nor  hinder- 
ed them  from  extending  their 
uiflnence,  and  augmenting 
their  authority,  both  in 
church  and  state."  i.  214, 
215. 

Jortin  says:  "There  was 
a   statue    of  Joan   amongst 


sectarian  feeling  was  con- 
cerned, we  may  discover  on 
both  sides  an  equal  disposi- 
tion to  give  loose  to  it. 

"The  Arian  was  more  flex- 
ible, the  Catholic  more  rigid 
under  persecution:  the  for- 
mer filially  submitted  to 
conversion,  the  latter  would 
probably  never  have  yielded 
to  any  infliction  short  of  ex- 
tirpation."    p.  103. 

These  reflections  are  as 
unjust  as  ungenerous.  Un- 
der the  trifling  restraint  of 
the  fourth  century,  every 
Catholic  bishop  of  any  note, 
except  Athanasius,  who  was 
condemned,  signed  the  Chris- 
tian creed,  which  they  called 
"Arian."  Where  was  their 
firmness  ?  The  Christians 
could  not  persecute.  Had 
they  exercised  any  such  tyr- 
anny as  the  Catholics,  the 
Roman  religion  would  have 
been  annihilated.  The  only 
wonder  is  that  the  Christians 
could  exist  in  the  midst  of 
death.  The  bush  burned 
but  was  not  consumed,  for 
the  angel  of  God's  presence 
was  in  the  midst  of  it. 
Down  to  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury we  find  the  complaint 
loud  from  Rome  that  the 
Gothic  Liturgy  was  not  yet 
conformed  to  the  Roman. 
Mosh.  i.  293. 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


359 


the  popes,  in  a  church  of 
Siena.  But,  under  the  pon- 
tificate of  Clemens  Vlll. 
they  altered  the  features  to 
those  of  a  man,  and  put  un- 
der it  the  name  Zacharias, 
thus  making  a  popess  a 
pope."     Jor.  iii,  245. 

'^A.  D.  1191  Celestin  III. 
was  seated  in  a  stone  chair, 
which  had  a  small  hole  in 
the  seat;  and  they  used  to 
make  the  popes  sit  down  in 
them."'  (245.)  "It  being 
reported  that  they  used 
these  chairs  (there  were 
three)  to  examine  the  sex  of 
the  new  made  pope.  The 
ceremony  became  so  infa- 
mous that  it  was  abolished." 
Jor.  iii.  246. 

A.  D.  855.  Pope  Bene- 
dict III.  The  reader  now 
finds  many  more  popes  than 
saints:  showing  that  the 
church  has  gone  from  bad 
to  worse,  or  that  "  distance 
lends  enchantment  to  the 
view." 

A.  D.  858.     Pope  Nicholas 

I.  had  much  trouble  with  the 
ladies,  and  was  excommuni- 
cated by  Photius,  of  Con- 
stantinople. Bowers,  ii.  254. 
Reeves,  258. 

A.  D.  867.     Pope   Adrian 

II.  excommunicated  Photius. 
A.D.872.  Pope  John  VIII. 

permitted  mass  to  be  said  in 
Sclavonian  language  by  the 


Waddington  says :  "  There 
is  one  distinction,  however, 
which,  to  a  certain  extent, 
is  true,  that  the  Arians  were 
far  more  lenient  in  their 
treatment  of  other  heretics, 
whereas  the  Catholics  per- 
secuted universally."  "The 
Arians  have  laid  claim  to 
the  greater  moderation,  both 
in  the  origin  and  in  the  con- 
duct of  this  controversy,  and 
they  moreover  assert  that 
their  communion  was  free 
from  many  of  the  supersti- 
tious corruptions,  which,  at 
that  time,  were  growing  up 
so  rapidly  in  the  Catholic 
Church.  This  latter  asser- 
tion is,  at  least,  founded  in 
probability."     102. 

A  truer  Christianity  and 
superior  intelligence  pro- 
duced a  corresponding  char- 
ity. How  could  such  men 
as  Origen,  Dionisius,  Euse- 
bius,  or  Eunomius  perse- 
cute? It  was  impossible. 
These  men  of  science,  deep 
biblical  culture,  *great  erudi- 
tion, and  sincere  religious 
feeling,  the  authors  of  his- 
tories and  commentaries, 
could  find  sufiicient  scope 
for  their  religious  thoughts 
and  objects  for  their  devo- 
tion without  persecuting 
the  worshipers  of  the  Moth- 
er of  God,  and  idols  of  men. 

Christian  princes  found 
that  there  was  no  safety  out 


360 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


Russians.  (Reeves,  252.) 
Photius  was  restored,  to 
which  Pope  John  VIII.  con- 
sented, and  sent  legates  to 
the  council  at  Constantino- 
ple.    Mosh.  i.  230. 

A.  D.   882.     Pope    Martin 

II.  restored  Formosus,  bish- 
op of  Porto,  who  liad  been 
excommunicated  by  his  pre- 
decessor. 

A.  D.  884.     Pope   Adrian 

III.  was  charged  by  the  em- 
peror with  pride,  arrogance 
and  presumption  ;  for  which 
he  sacriiiced  the  good  of  the 
church.    Bowers,  ii.  294. 

From  Stephen  VII.  who 
died  in  891,  to  Sylvester  II. 
899,  all  were  bad.  Reeves, 
291. 

A.  D.  885.  Pope  Stephen 
VI.  was  so  wicked  that  Bar- 
onius  apologizes  for  naming 
him  as  a  pope.  He  had  his 
predecessor  disentombed, 
tried,  condemned,  and  three 
fingers  cut  from  his  hand ; 
and  his  remains  cast  into 
the  Tiber.  Fleury,  xi.  610. 
Jor.  iii.  106. 

A.  D.  891.  Pope  Formo- 
sus is  placed  before  Stephen 
by  Baronius. 

A.  D.  896.  Pope  Boniface 
VI.,  a  most  infamous  char- 
acter,  the    son    of    Adrian, 


of  the  Roman  Church,  as 
every  priest  of  Rome  labored 
to  subvert  their  power  and 
undermine  their  thrones, 
and  Catholic  subjects  would 
ever  hail  any  Catholic  prince 
or  adventurer  as  a  deliverer, 
and  betray  a  fortress,  city, 
kingdom,  or  king  to  any 
Catholic  power. 

Women  were  taught  to  be- 
tray   their    husbands,    chil- 
dren to  rebel  against  their 
fathers,    subjects     to     fight 
against  their  sovereigns,  and 
soldiers  to  resist  their  offi- 
cers.    There    was    no    com- 
promise.     Every     Catholic 
was  taught  that  all  others 
were  heretics  to  be  avoided, 
persecuted,  abandoned,  and 
destroyed.     With  the  Cath- 
olic,   therefore,    there    was 
prosperity     by     patronage, 
safety    by    protection,    and 
peace  by  union  with  those 
who  permitted  no  peace  ex- 
cept  to  those  of  their  own 
faith.     No   pretext  was   too 
trivial,  no  error  too  obscure. 
Those  who  held  Easter  on  the 
very  night  (14tli)  on  which 
it  was  instituted  by  the  Son 
of    God,    were    denounced 
by    the    law    as    worthy    of 
death.     Manicheans,  illustri- 
ous for  virtue,  were  prompt- 
ly burnt.     Nestorians,  of  the 


EOMAN   CIIURCir. 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.        361 


had  been  deposed  for  his 
scandalous  life.  He  died  of 
the the "  gout." 

A.  D.  896.  Pope  Stephen 
VII.  He  "  entered  the  fold 
as  a  thief  and  a  robber,  a 
perfidious  and  a  villainous 
man  ;  and,  in  the  retribution 
of  God,  ended  his  clays  by 
the  infamous  death  of  the 
halter."  (Bar.  x.  742.)  Did 
he  sit  in  Peter's  chair?  or 
hang  in  Judas'  halter? 

A.  D.  897.  Pope  Koman- 
us  emulated  the  acts  of  Pope 
Stephen,  and  declared  his 
proceedings  against  Formo- 
sus  illegal.     Bowers,  ii.  302. 

A.  D.  898.  Pope  Tiieodo- 
rus  II.  undid,  in  the  twenty 
days  he  served,  all  he  could 
of  the  former  pope's  doings. 

A.  D.  898.  Pope  John  IX. 
His  party  drove  Sergius,  for- 
merly chosen  from  Rome, 
and  he  condemned  the  acts 
of  Stephen.     Bowers,  ii.  302. 

A.  D.  900.     Benedict  IV. 

COUNCILS  or  TENTH  CENTURY. 

A.  D.  993.  Pope  John 
XV.  at  the  head  of  a  coun- 
cil made  Uldaric  a  saint. 

A.  D.  999.  '-There  were 
yet  subsisting  some  remains 
of  the  sect  of  the   Arians." 


very  same  creed,  were  out- 
lawed,   and    their   property 
confiscated  and  their  church- 
es   seized.     Donatists    Avere 
hunted     down     like     wild 
beasts.     Arians,   for   saying 
that    Christ     existed     from 
eternity,  yet  had  a   begin- 
ning of  his  substance,  were 
to   be   put  to  death.     Even 
Semiarians,  i.  e.,  those  who 
held    that    Christ    was    the 
true  Son  of  God,  of  the  same 
nature  of  the  Father,  were 
called    Arians    and    slaugh- 
tered.    They  blushed  for  no 
shame,    apologized    for    no 
falsehood,  and  conviction  of 
crime    caused    no    modesty. 
They  adored  with  equal  ven- 
eration  Athanasius    in    his 
villainy,  Anthony  in  his  im- 
postures,   Ambrose    in    his 
wickedness,  and  Cyril  in  his 
cruelty.     A  race  of  unmar- 
ried   priests,   without    sym- 
pathy    for     humanity,     en- 
couraged   in    the   rulers    a 
savage  barbarity,  and  with 
a  hideous  superstition  awed 
the  humble   poor  in  abject 
obedience;     governed     the 
great  by  the  advantages  of 
prosperity,  and  held  over  all 
the  terror  of  earthly  annihi- 
lation. 


502 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


AGE  OF  ABOMINATIONS. 


POPES  OF  THE  TENTH  CENTURY. 


ST.  AUSTIN  IN  ENGLAND. 


A.  D.  904.  Pope  Leo  V. 
Reeves  numbers  thirty-one 
popes  between  the  years 
891  and  999,  of  "reigns 
short,"  and  "end  dishonor- 
able." 

A.  D.  904.  Pope  Christo- 
phorus  took  the  chair  by 
violence,  and  was  overcome 
and  cast  into  prison  by 
Pope  Sergius  III.,  "the 
slave  of  every  vice  and  the 
most  wicked  of  men."  His 
Holiness  "a  sovereign  pon- 
tiff clasped  in  the  lewd 
embraces  of  a  notorious 
prostitute,  he  publicly  avow- 
ed his  criminal  connection 
with  Marozia;  and  by  her 
had  a  son — afterward  Pope 
John  XI."  Roman  Catholic 
testimony.     Reeves,  p.  291. 

POPES   IN  HELL. 

A.  D.  912.  Pope  Anasta- 
sius  III.  "I  should  not  be 
surprised  if  these  bad  popes 
were  at  this  moment  expi- 
ating their  crimes  in  the 
penal  fires  of  hell."  Bish- 
op   Purcell,   of    Cincinnati, 


"The  Christianity  which 
this  pretended  aj^ostle  and 
sanctitied  ruffian  taught  us, 
seemed  to  consist  principal- 
ly in  two  things,  in  keeping 
Easter  upon  a  proper  day, 
and  to  be  slaves  to  our  Sov- 
ereign Lord  God,  the  pope, 
and  to  Austin,  his  deputy 
and  vicegerent.  Such  were 
the  boasted  blessings  and 
benefits  which  we  received 
from  the  mission  and  minis- 
try of  this  most  audacious 
and  insolent  monk." 

Waddington,  whose  sym- 
pathy moved  him  to  hold 
on  to  the  skirts  of  Rome  till 
thrown  off  forcibly,  says  : 

''This  is  passionate  and 
unjust  abuse.  St.  Austin  was 
indeed  the  missionary  of  a 
pope;  but  liis  conversion  of 
the  mass  of  the  inhabitants 
of  this  island  was  perfectly 
independent  of  his  endeav- 
ors to  bring  over  to  the 
Church  of  Rome  the  few 
and  obscure  schismatics  of 
Wales  ;  and  let  us  recollect 
that  his  exertions  in  both 
cases  were  directed  only  to 
persuade.  The  evidence  re- 
specting the  massacre  of  the 
twelve  hundred  monks  of 
Bangor  is  very  fairly  stated 
oy  Fuller ;  and  it  seems  upon 


EOMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      363 


Pebate    with    Campbell,   p. 
145. 

A.  D.  914.  Pope  Lando. 
Reeves  lectures  Protestants 
soundly  for  not  "drawing  a 
cloak  over  their  fathers' 
shame,"  instead  of  exulting 
in  the  "  disgrace  of  the  Ko- 
man  pontiffs,"  defiled  with 
vice,  "  and  thus  wantonly  in- 
sulting their  mother  church." 
Remarks  are  unnecessary. 
Reeves,  p.  291. 

A.  D.  915.  Pope  John  X. 
Mosheim  says:  '^Theodora, 
mistress  of  Rome,  procured 
the  elevation  of  John,  that 
she  might  continue  the  li- 
centious commerce  in  which 
she  had  lived  with  that  car- 
nal ecclesiastic  for  many 
years  before."     i.  243. 

A.  D.  928.  Pope  Leo  VI. 
was  the  next  "vicar  of 
Christ!!!" 

Mosheim  says  :  "  The  his- 
tory of  the  popes  who  lived 
in  this  century  is  a  history 
of  many  monsters,  and  not 
of  men,  and  exhibits  a  hor- 
rible series  of  the  most  fla- 
gitious, tremendous,  and 
complicated  crimes,  as  all 
writers,  even  those  of  the 
Romish  communion,  unani- 
mously confess."  i.  243. 

A.  D.  929.     Pope  Stephen 
VIII.  was   probably   less    a 
pope  and  more  a  man. 
,A.  D.  931.     Pope  John  XL 


the  whole  probable  that  the 
event  took  place  after  the 
death  of  St.  Austin.  But  at 
any  rate  the  crime  was  com- 
mitted in  the  heat  of  the 
battle."     Wad.  134. 

The  learned  writer  should 
have   added   also   that  they 
were    only    Christians;    and 
to  give  still  greater  force  to 
his  contempt  he  might  have 
said  Arians.     Milner  is  sur- 
prised   that   Gibbon    attrib- 
utes the  desperate  conduct 
of  the  Circumcelliones  (Do- 
natists)  to  the  Augustinian 
persecutions,   and    the    suc- 
cess of  the  Vandals  of  Africa 
to  the  same  cause.     But  Gib- 
bon, being  less  a  bigot  than 
the    half    Catholic    Milner, 
could  reason  from  eflect  to 
cause.    Milner  calls  it"  glar- 
ingly false,"  and  thus  shows 
his  teeth,  though  he  can  not 
bite.     In  all  Milner's  works 
he  has  not  the  manliness  to 
say  one  word  for  those  whose 
persons    were    slaughtered, 
and     whose     books    were 
burned,  but  everywhere  re- 
lies upon  the  word  of  their 
murderers,      though      their 
names,   as    they  relate   the 
story,  are  baptized  in  blood. 
Mil.  i.  434. 

England. — The     ancient 
name  was  Britain.     The  in- 


364 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


was  the  first  son  of  Pope  Ser- 
gius,  III.,  byMarozia.  -'To 
the  infamy  of  his  spurious 
birth,  he  added  personal 
vice,  in  which  he  was  shame- 
fully imitated  by  many  in 
that  century,  who  were 
raised  to  the  papal  throne, 
without  the  virtues  or  mer- 
it," etc.     Reeves,  291. 

Mosheim  says  :  "  The  char- 
acter and  conduct  of  Maro- 
zia  are  acknowled^'-ed  to 
have  been  most  infamous  by 
the  general  testimony  both 
of  ancient  and  modern  his- 
torians, who  affirm,  with  one 
voice,  that  John  XL  was 
the  fruit  of  her  carnal  com- 
merce with  Sergius  III.  Ec- 
card  alone  (in  his  Origenes 
Guelphicfe,  torn.  i.  lib.  iii.) 
has  ventured  to  clear  her 
from  this  reproach,  and  to 
assert  that  Sergius,  before 
his  elevation  to  the  pontifi- 
cate, was  her  lawful  and 
first  husband.  The  attempt, 
however,  is  highly  extrava- 
gant, if  not  imprudent,  to 
pretend  to  acquit,  without 
the  least  tesr.imony  or  proof 
of  her  innocence,  a  woman 
who  is  known  to  have  been 
entirely  destitute  of  every 
principle  of  virtue."     i.  2-1:3. 

A.  D.  936.  Pope  Leo  VII. 
condemned  the  marriage  of 
priests. 

A.  D.  939.  Pope  Stephen 
IX.  was  the  pope  whose  face 


habitants  were  a  mixed  race 
of  the  Cimri  (German) 
mixed  with  the  Celts.  The 
religion,  therefore,  was  of 
the  Druids.  They  believed 
in  one  supreme  Being,  in 
the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
and  in  the  priests.  The 
priests  were  the  judges  of 
the  country.  The  Britons 
were  a  peaceful  people. 
The  Romans  under  Caesar 
subdued  their  country,  and 
Nero  reduced  them  jto  slave- 
ry. Boadicea  was  queen  of 
the  Iceni,  i.  f.,  Norfolk,  Suf- 
folk, Cambridge,  and  Hun- 
tingdon. When  the  Romans 
abused  her  daughters,  she 
collected  an  army  of  two 
hundred  thousand,  and  was 
at  first  victorious.  Eighty 
thousand  of  the  enemy  were 
slain  and  London  was  re- 
duced to  ashes.  But  she 
was  afterward  defeated,  and 
to  prevent  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  barbarians  who 
had  ravished  her  daughters 
before  her  eyes,  she  took 
poison  and  ended  her  life. 

A.  D.  63.  England  con- 
verted to  the  Christians. 
Ancient  legends  say  that 
Britain  was  visited  by  St 
Paul  (see  Henry  Spelman, 
p.  2),  and  by  Joseph  of  Ar- 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


365 


was  so  badly  scarred  that  lie 
was  ashamed  to  be  seen. 

A.  D.  942.  Pope  Martin 
III.  Baronius  gives  hira  a 
good  character, 

A.  D.  946.  Pope  Agape- 
tus  II.  is  a  little  relief  to  the 
dark  picture. 

A.    D.    956.     Pope    John 

XII.  irregularly  elected  at 
the  age  of  eighteen.  Reeves, 
293.  He  was  a  perjured  de- 
bauchee, living  publicly 
with  the  wife  of  a  soldier, 
and  had  several  other  mis- 
tresses ;  for  he  spared  none, 
married  or  virgins ;  and  was 
finally  killed  in  bed  with  a 
married   woman."      Bowers, 

POPES   IN   PAIRS. 

A.  D.  963.  Pope  Leo  VIII. 
was  appointed  b}^  the  King 
of  Italy  during  the  life  of 
John.  John  procured  the 
condemnation  of  Leo  in  a 
council,  A.  D.  964.  Mosh.  i. 
244. 

A-  D.  964.  Pope  Bene- 
dict V.  was  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed John,  and  in  opposi- 
tion to  Leo,  his  contempor- 
ary ;  but  was  taken  prisoner 
and  died  at  Hamburg.  lb. 

A.    D.   965.      Pope    John 

XIII.  was  made  pope  by  the 
Emperor   Otho,  but   driven 


imathea  also,  and  that  Clau- 
dius, a  Welsh  lady  of  Caesar's 
household,  was  converted 
by  Paul  at  Rome.  Also, 
that  when  the  Romans  con- 
quered Britain  B.  C.  50,  they 
contracted  a  friendly  al- 
liance with  the  Welsh,  in 
consequence  of  which  sev- 
eral families  removed  to 
Rome  to  reside,  and  that 
Claudius  was  descended  of 
these.  A.  D.  180,  Tagunus 
and  Daminianus  went  to 
Rome,  aiid  being  converted 
returned,  and  were  the  blest 
instruments  in  the  hand  of 
God  of  the  conversion  of  Lu- 
cius their  king.  See  Chris- 
mas  Evans'  Life. 

A.  D.  180.  King  Zuchfs 
of  Britaioi^  the  first  Chris- 
tian king.  "Lucius  gave 
the  privilege  of  the  country 
with  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
rights  to  those  who  professed 
faith  in  Christ."  British 
Triads,  London  Ed.,  1823,  p 
338. 

Fugatius  and  Daminianus 
baptized  King  Lucius  and 
his  queen  in  183.  Reeves 
says  Great  Britain  had  thus 
the  honor  of  being  governed 
by  the  first  Christian  king. 
This  first  Christian  (p.  49) 
is  not  to  be  confounded  with 


3t?6 


CHURCH   HISTORY 


out  of  Rome  by  the  dear 
people.  He  introduced  the 
custom  of  baptizing  bells. 
Mosh.  ii.  244.  Bowers,  ii.  320. 

A.  D.  9  73.  Pope  Bene- 
dict VI.  was  strangled  in 
prison.  The  Romans  hated 
both  him  and  his  govern- 
ment.    Mosh.  ii.  224. 

A.  D.  974.  Pope  Donus 
II.  was  Donus,  that's  all  at 
most. 

A.  D.  975.  Pope  Bene- 
dict VII.  cursed  Franco,  his 
rival,  bitterly. 

A.    D.    984.     Pope    John 

XIV.  Franco,  {.  e.^  Boni- 
face VII.,  threw  him  into 
prison,  and  strangled  him. 

A.    D.    985.     Pope    John 

XV.  was  never  consecrated. 
Reeves,  p.  304. 

A.    D.    985.     Pope    John 

XVI.  was  an  anti-pope. 

A.  D.  997.  Pope  Grego- 
ry V.  was  made  pope  at  the 
age  of  twenty. 

A.  D.  999.  Pope  Sylves- 
ter II.  used  his  influence  to 
annul  the  crimes  of  Arnold, 
his  former  associate.  Bow- 
ers, ii.  33. 

O  mystery  Babylon!  thou 
mother  of  harlots  and  abom- 
inations of  the  earth,  what 
a  moral  contagion  thou 
art!!!       Read     the     seven- 


Clovis,  "  the  eldest  sou  of 
the  church.''  The  latter  be- 
longs to  the  French  crown, 
as  Clovis,  of  the  sixth  cen- 
tury, was  the  first  Catholic 
king.  Every  thing  of  the 
Catholic  Church  is  dated 
subsequent  to  the  Christian. 
Thus  the  Christians  arose 
from  Jerusalem ;  the  Cath- 
olics from  Rome.  Tiie  Chris- 
tians have  the  Scriptures  of 
the  first  ages;  the  Catholics 
the  creed  325  years  later. 

The  Christians  have  the 
historians,  Hegesippus  and 
Eusebius  of  the  first  ages; 
the  Catholics  claim  none  be- 
fore the  fifth  century.  The 
Christians  have  many  na- 
tions and  kings  in  the  first 
ages;  the  Catholics  none  till 
Clovis,  in  the  sixth  century. 
The  Christians  claim  six  Ro- 
man emperors  as  baptized 
Christians  prior  to  380;  the 
Catholics  claim  Theodosius 
the  tyrant,  baptized  in  381 
as  the  first  emperor  baptized 
in  their  faith.  We  hear  but 
little  of  the  British  Chris- 
tians in  the  first  centuries, 
probably  because  they  did 
not  s^'mpathize  with  Rome. 
When  Diocletian  issued  his 
edict  of  persecution,  "the 
mild  and  humane  temper  of 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


367 


teenth  of  Revelation.  Then 
read  the  following  from 
Reeves,  the  Catholic  Histo- 
rian, and  decide  if  the  like- 
ness be  not  perfect.  Shame 
on  the  man  who  can  believe 
this  is  the  Church  of  Christ. 

Reeves'  Testimony^  or  the 
Catholic's    Confession. 

"Two  sister  prostitutes, 
Marozia  and  Theodora,  the 
daughters  of  the  lewd  Mar- 
chioness of  Tuscany,  gov- 
erned Rome  by  their  polit- 
ical influence  and  criminal 
intrigues.  To  these  disor- 
ders the  popes  themselves 
contributed  in  no  small  de- 
gree. After  Stephen  VL, 
who  died  in  891,  succeeded 
Formo-sus,  Stephen  VII.,  Ro- 
manus,  Theodore  II.,  John 
IX.,  Benedict  IV.,  Leo  V., 
Christophorus,  Sergius  III., 
Anastasius  III.,  Lando,  John 
X.,  Leo  VL,  Stephen  VIIL, 
John  XL,  Leo  VII.,  Stephen 
IX.,  Martinus  II.,  Agapetus 
II.,  John  XII.,  Leo  VIIL, 
Benedict  V,  John  XIIL, 
Benedict  VL,  Donus  II., 
Benedict  VII.,  John  XIV., 
Boniface  VII.,  John  XV, 
Gregory  V.,  Sylvester  II. 
Between  the  years  891  and 
999,  here  are  one  and  thirty 
popes;  their  number  is  a 
clear  proof,  that  the  reigns 
of  many  of  them  were  short, 
and  their  end  dishonorable. 
Sergius  III.  exlii'oited  a  spec- 
tacle  of   scandal,   of  which 


Constantius,  who  died  at 
York,  was  averse  to  the  op- 
pression of  any  part  of  his 
subjects.  The  principal  of- 
ficers of  his  palace  were 
Christians.  He  loved  their 
persons,  esteemed  their  fidel- 
ity, and  entertained  not  any 
dislike  to  their  religious 
principles."     Gibbon. 

"The  son  of  Constantius 
immediately  repealed  the 
edicts  of  persecution  enact- 
ed by  Maximus,  and  granted 
the  free  exercise  of  their 
religious  ceremonies  to  all 
those  who  had  already  pro- 
fessed themselves  members 
of  the  church.  They  were 
soon  encouraged  to  depend 
on  the  lav  or  as  well  as  the 
justice  of  a  sovereign,  who 
had  imbibed  a  secret  and 
sincere  reverence  for  the 
name  of  Christ,  and  for  the 
God  of  the  Christians."  Gib. 
ii.  59,  198. 

Helena,  the  motlier  of  Con- 
stantino, was  a  Christian. 
Bede  testifies  that  Lucius 
was  a  Christian.  (Nean.  i. 
85.)  We  know  that  Britain 
for  a  long  time  resisted  po- 
pery, and  that  there  was  all 
along  an  anti-Roman  feeling, 
is  evidence  of  the  opinion 
that  she  received  her  knowl- 
edge of  Christianity  directly 
from  Jerusalem,  and  after- 
ward kept  her  communion 


368 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


the  Christian  world  had 
never  known  an  example,  a 
sovereign  pontiff  clasped  in 
the  lewd  embraces  of  a  no- 
torious prostitute.  Sergius 
III.,  without  regard  for  the 
dignity  or  the  holiness  of 
liis  pontitical  character,  pub- 
licly avowed  his  criminal 
connection  with  Marozia; 
by  her  he  had  a  son,  who, 
under  his  mother's  influence, 
crept  afterward  into  St.  Pe- 
ter's chair  by  the  name  of 
John  XI.  To  the  infamy  of 
his  spurions  birth,  he  added 
personal  vice,  in  which  he 
was  shamefully  imitated  by 
many,  who  in  that  century 
were  raised  to  the  papal 
throne,  without  the  virtnes 
to  merit  or  support  their  el- 
evation. Protestant  writers 
here  exult  in  the  digrace  of 
the  Roman  pontiffs  at  that 
time,  and  wildly  fancy,  that 
in  the  papal  dress,  thus  de- 
filed with  vice,  they  behold 
the  scarlet  petticoat  of  the 
Babvlonian  harlot."  Reeves, 
p.  291. 

Arians  still  existed  in  Italy 
and  Padau.     Mosh.  i.  252. 

THE    IRON    AGE. 

Roman  writers  say  that 
this  was  a  "dark,  iron,  wick- 
ed age;"  when  "filthy  and 
impudent  whores  governed 
Rome,  changing  the  sees  at 
pleasure,"  introducing  their 
"  gallants  and  bullies  in  the 
See    of    Peter."      Genbrard 


with  the  Asiatic  and  Greek 
Churches,  and  not  from  the 
Romans. 

Milner  says  :  "  Of  the  Brit- 
ish Isles  little  is  recorded, 
and  that  little  is  obscure  and 
uncertain.  It  is  rather  from 
the  natural  course  of  things, 
and  from  analogy,  than  from 
any  positive  nnexception- 
able  testimony,  that  we  are 
induced  to  conclude  that  the 
divine  light  must  have  pen- 
etrated into  our  country." 
i.  238. 

Names  of  the  British 
Christians.  These  ancient 
Christians  were  called  Cul- 
dees,  from  Gael  or  Cel  or 
/i7/,  a  retired  spot  or  place 
of  worshij),  and  Dia,  God,  or, 
as  others  say,  from  Kille 
servant,  and  Dia  God,  viz : 
servant  of  God. 

A.  D.  302.  Constantino's 
mother  was  a  Briton,  daugh- 
ter of  Ccel,  and  he  was  born 
at  Colchester;  and  the  in- 
fluence of  Constantius,  his 
father,  saved  Britain  in  the 
j')ersecution  to  some  extent, 
yet  St.  Alban  and  St.  Agulus, 
bishops  of  London,  died  for 
their  faith,  as  stated  by 
Reeves,  75,  76. 

Gibbon  says  "the  British 
Church  might  be  composed 
of  thirty  or  forty  bishops, 
with  an  adequate  prop':rtion 
of    inferior     clergy.     Three 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


369 


■says  that  for  150  years  the 
popes  were  apostate  rather 
than  apostolic.  1500  years 
would  come  nearer  to  the 
truth. 

COUNCILS  OF  THE  ELEVENTH 
CENTURY. 

A.  D.  1051.  "Some  Man- 
icheans  were  discovered  and 
burnt."  Jor.  iii.  112,  124. 

A.  D.  1089.  More  Mani- 
cheans,  Albigenses,  and  oth- 
ers were  burnt.  Jor.  iii.  135 

A.  D.  1096.  The  Council 
of  Clermont,  P'rance,  of  200 
bishops,  with  Pope  Urban 
II.'  at  its  head,  called  Eu- 
rope to  the  war  of  the  cru- 
sades.    Reeves,  326. 

POPES    OF   THE    ELEVENTH    CEN- 
TURY. 

Papal  rule.  Through 
what  horrid  scenes  have  we 
passed?  And  is  this  the 
history  of  a  church?  a  Cath- 
olic Church?  the  mother 
church!  Is  this  the  history 
of  holy  pontiffs,  of  infallible 
vicars  of  Christ ! ! !  My  heart 
is  sick  at  the  recital,  and  my 
eye  abhors  the  page  which 
records  their  foul  character. 

A.  D.  1003.  Pope  John 
XVII.  is  of  no  note. 

A.  D.  1004.  Pope  John 
24 


bishops  were  present  at  the 
Council  of  Rimini,  A.  D. 
359."     Gib.  iii.  258. 

A.  D.  60.  Ancient  Chris- 
tians of  England.  "Chris- 
tianity had  obtained  early 
and,  perhaps,  general  recep- 
tion in  Britain,  when  it  was 
suddenly  swept  away  and 
almost  entirely  obliterated." 
Wad.  133. 

A.  D.  449.  King  Vorti- 
gern  addressed  a  message 
to  the  Saxons,  in  Germany, 
soliciting  their  assistance 
against  the  Picts  and  Scots. 
He  soon  cleared  the  country 
of  those  invaders,  receiving 
in  return  of  the  Britons  lib- 
eral rewards  and  a  large 
portion  of  country.  Fleet 
after  fleet  of  Saxons  arriving, 
Hengist,  their  king,  soon  re- 
duced a  portion  of  the  coun- 
try, receiving  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  king  in  mar- 
riage, and  in  457  founded 
the  kingdom  of  Kent.  Thir- 
ty-five years'  reign  did  not 
extend  his  dominions.  In  a 
war  of  a  hundred  years  the 
Britons  disputed  the  posses- 
sion of  the  soil.  But  the 
Saxons  invited  to  their  as- 
sistance the  Jutes  and  the 
Angles,  and  the  Britons  were 
driven  into  Wales,  where, 
for  a  long  time,  they  main. 


370 


CIIURCII    HISTOP.r. 


XVIII.  sent  a  missionary  to 
Russia, 

A.  D.  1009.  Sergius  IV. 
His  name  was  Peter.  He  is 
the  first  native  Roman  pope 
who  changed  his  name. 

A.  D.  1012.  Pope  Benedict 
VHI.  was  ousted  by  his  rival 
Gregory,  but  reinstated  by 
the  Eving  of  Germany.  He 
went  to  j)urgatory.  Du  Pin, 
iii.  206. 

A.  D.  1024.  Pope  John  XIX. 
was  a  hiyman  and  at  twenty 
years  of  age  made  pope  by 
money.  (Jor.iii.120.)  He  was 
very  infamous  by  rapines 
and  murders,  and  was  final- 
ly expelled  by  the  people. 

POrES   BY   THREES. 

A.  D.  1033.  Pope  Bene- 
dict IX.  Here  they  lose 
the  links.  Du  Pin  thinks 
he  succeeded  John  XVIIL, 
being  appointed  by  the 
'Count  of  Frescati  at  the  age 
of  eighteen.  He  was  guilty 
of  abominable  irregularities 
and  brutality,  and  finally 
sold  the  chair  to  Gregory. 

A.  D.  1045.  Pope  Gregory 
VI.  was  called  the  "  Bloody." 
Three  popes  now  reigned 
until  King  Henry,  Emperor 
of  Germany,  ousted  the  three 
and  appointed  the  one  which 
was  infallible. 


tained  their  independence 
''Christianity  was  still  pro- 
fessed in  the  mountains  of 
Wales,  but  the  rude  schis- 
matics obstinately  resisted 
the  imperious  mandates  of 
the  Roman  pontiffs.'- 

A.  D.  448.  Sampson,  Dol, 
Heltat,  Malo,  Gildas,  and 
other  preachers  and  bishops 
are  celebrated.  This ''Gildas 
was  born  at  Dumbarton,  in 
Scotland.  He  preached  with 
much  success.  Two  of  his 
discourses  on  the  ruin  of 
Great  Britain  are  still  ex- 
tant, in  which  he  deplores 
the  vices  and  calamities  of 
the  times  ;  ascribes  the  des- 
olations made  by  the  Sax- 
ons, to  the  depravity  of  his 
countrjnnen,  and  with  hon- 
est vehemence  exhorts  six 
British  princes  to  repent- 
ance." "From  these  hints 
it  is  evident  that  there  had 
been  a  considerable  degree 
of  pure  religion  auiong  the 
Britons  before  the  invasion 
otthe  Saxons;  and  that  after 
the  declension  and  decay, 
there  were  still  laitiilul  pas- 
tors." "A  number  of  Brit- 
ons having  been  expelled 
from  their  country  by  the 
arms  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
A.  D.  446,  crossed  tiie  sea, 
and  settled  in  the  adjacent 
parts  of  France.  Hence  the 
origin  of  the  French  prov- 
ince ofBritanny.  With  them 
the  faith  of  the  gospel  was 
preserved,  as  well  as  with 
their  brethren  in  Wales  and 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


371 


A.  D.  1046.  Pope  Clem- 
ent II.  was  by  all  acknowl- 
edge as  a  true  pope;  but  af- 
ter his  death,  Benedict  re- 
turned to  the  papal  throne 
and  ruled,  while  the  emper- 
or of  Germany  appointed 
Pope  Damasiss  II. 

A.  D.  1048.  Pope  Dama- 
sus  II,  was  poisoned. 

They  now  beg;an  to  baptize 
church  bells. 

Manicheans  and  Paulicans 
were  burnt  in  Bulgaria  and 
Thrace,  and  now  began  to 
be  called  Albigenses.  They 
were  spread  over  Italy.  Jor. 
iii.  135. 

A.  D.  1049.  Pope  Leo  IX. 
endeavored  to  suppress  si- 
mony. Unleavened  bread 
was  now  adopted  as  the  only 
bread  to  be  used  in  the  Eu- 
charist. 

A.  D.  1055.  Pope  Victor 
II.  was  chosen  by  Hilde- 
brand,  and  redressed  many 
abuses.    Bowers,  ii.  362. 

A.  D.  1057.  Pope  Stephen 
X.  held  councils  against 
priests  marrying. 

A.  D.  1059.  Pope  Nicho- 
las II.  fought  his  way  in,  by 
driving  Pope  Benedict  out. 
He  endeavored  to  limit  the 
election  of  popes  to  the  car- 
dinals. 


Cornwall,  and  some  parts  of 
Scotland  and  Ireland,  while 
the  major  part  of  England 
was  covered  with  Saxon 
idolatry."— Mil.  i.  496,  497. 

''  The  Culdees  of  Scotland 
and  Ireland  also  rejected 
popery  at  this  time,  holding 
to  the  written  word  of  God." 
See  Brewster's  Ency.,  Art. 
CuJdees. 

A.  D.  411.  Pelagius,  a 
British  Christian,  visited 
Rome.  Pelagius,  or  Brito,  a 
Briton,  and  Celestius  trav- 
eled extensively  in  the  em- 
pire during  the  fifth  century. 
As  the  Roman  Catholics  had 
not  sent  their  new  doctrines 
there,  they  knew  little  or 
nothing  about  them.  Mil- 
ner  says  that  his  doctrine 
differed  but  little  from  So- 
cinianism,  from  which  we 
only  learn  that  they  were 
not  Trinitarians.  "They 
lived  at  Rome  in  the  great- 
est reputation,  and  were 
universally  esteemed  for 
their  extraordinary  piety 
and  virtue."     Mosh.  i.  154. 

"Pelagius  is  admitted  to 
be  a  man  of  irreproachable 
character,  an  able  and  subtle 
disputant."  St.  Augustine 
acknowledges  that  he  "had 
made  great  progress  in  vir- 
tue and  piety,  that  his  life 
was  chaste,  and  his  man- 
ners blameless  ;  and  this,  in- 
deed, is  the  truth."  lb.  i, 
154. 


372 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


A.  D.  1061.  Pope  Alex- 
ander II.  was  elected  by 
bribery,  and  had  many  chil- 
dren by  the  strumpet  Vano- 
zia.     Bar.  xix.  413. 

A.  D.  1073.  Pope  Grego- 
ry VII.  This  was  the  "  ex- 
ecrable Hildebrand."  In 
him  popery  was  at  its  cli- 
max. '■  He  persecuted  the 
married  priests."  He  ex- 
communicated the  emperor's 
person,  absolved  his  sub- 
jects, and  left  him  sueing 
for  reconciliation,  standing 
barefooted  at  his  door  three 
days  in  winter.  He  cajoled 
Matilda,  Countess  of  Tusca- 
ny, to  the  making  over  her 
large  dominions  of  Tuscany 
and  Lombardy  to  the  pa- 
pal see;  only  reserving  her 
life  right  in  them.  "Ex- 
ecrable," and  "  wretch  "  are 
terms  applied  to  Gregory  in 
history.  His  talents  equaled 
his  pride.     Jor.  iii.  128. 

Mosheim  says  :  "The  views 
of  Hildebrand  were  not  con- 
fined to  the  erection  of  an 
absolute  and  universal  mon- 
archy in  the  church;  they 
aimed  also  at  the  establish- 
ment of  a  civil  monarchy 
equally  extensive  and  des- 
potic ;  and  this  aspiring 
pontiff,  after  having  drawn 
up  a  system  of  ecclesiastic- 
al laws  for  the  government 


"  Pelagius  was  a  native  of 
Britain,  probably  Wales.  The 
associate  of  his  travels,  his 
heresy  and  his  celebrity,  was 
Celestius,  an  Irishman.  Both 
were  monks,  both,  too,  were 
men  of  considerable  talents, 
and  no  just  suspicions  have 
ever  been  thrown  on  the 
sanctity  of  their  moral  con- 
duct. They  arrived  in  Rome 
in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth 
century,  and  remained  un- 
disturbed till  four  hundred 
and  ten."     Wad.  160. 

At  Carthage,  Pelagius  was 
condemned,  but  John,  the 
bishop  of  Jerusalem,  favored 
him  still,  although  "St.  Au- 
gustine occasioned  him  to 
be  accused  at  two  councils." 
In  the  first  at  Jerusalem,  on 
being  asked  if  he  really 
maintained  opinions  which 
Augustine  had  condemned, 
he  replied :  What  is  Augus- 
tine to  me  ? 

A.  D.  415.  Many  were 
offended,  for  Augustine  was 
the  most  venerable  author- 
ity of  the  age,  and  some 
were  for  immediately  ex- 
communicating the  rebel! 
But  John,  bishop  of  Jerusa- 
lem, averted  the  blow,  and 
kindly  addressed  Pelagius: 
"It  is  I  who  am  Augustine 
here;  it  is  to  me  that  you 
shall  answer."  He  was  ac- 
Guitted   at  both   trials,  but 


ROMAN   CIIURCU. 


CHRISTIAN   CIIURCU.      373 


of  tlie  church,  would  have 
introduced  also  a  new  code 
of  political  laws,  had  he 
beeu  permitted  to  execute 
(he  plan  he  had  formed.  His 
purpose  was  to  engage,  in 
tiie  bonds  of  fidelity  and  al- 
legiance to  St.  Peter,  i.  e.^  to 
the  Roman  pon tills,  all  the 
kings  and  princes  of  the 
earth,  and  to  establish  at 
Rome  an  annual  assembly 
of  bishops,  by  whom  the 
contests  that  might  arise  be- 
tween kingdoms  or  sovereign 
states  were  to  be  decided, 
the  rights  and  pretensions 
of  princes  to  be  examined, 
and  the  fate  of  nations  and 
empires  to  be  determined. 
This  ambitious  project  met, 
however,  with  the  warmest 
opposition,  particularly  from 
the  vigilance  and  resolution 
of  tiie  emperors,  and  also 
from  the  British  and  French 
monarchs. 

"That  Ilildebrand  had 
formed  this  audacious  plan, 
is  undoubtedly  evident,  both 
from  his  own  epistles,  and 
also  from  other  authentic  rec- 
ords of  antiquity,  and  i'rom 
the  nature  of  the  oath  which 
he  drew  up  for  the  king  or  em- 
peror of  the  Romans,  from 
whom  he  demanded  a  pro- 
fession of  subjection  and  al- 
legiance." 

A.  D.  1073.  Pope  Gregory 
VII.,  or  Hildebrand,  a  tyrant 
of  talent  and  of  boundless 
ambition,  reformed  some 
abuses. 


afterward  condemned,  in 
Africa,  A.  D.  418,  and  sent 
by  the  emperor,  at  Constan- 
tinople, into  banishment. 
The  pope,  who  had  before 
justified,  now  condemned 
him,  and  I'rom  this  time  the 
points  now  condemned  were 
called  Pelagianism.  As  near 
as  we  can  judge* from  their 
enemies,  they  were  as  fol- 
lows: 

1.  "  Infant  baptism  is  not 
a  sign  or  seal  of  remission 
of  sins : 

2.  "But  a  mark  of  admis- 
sion into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  open  only  to  the 
pure  in  heart  (not  infants). 

3.  "Good  works  are  mer- 
itorious."    Mosh.  i.  155. 

4.  "Denied,  that  in  con- 
sequence of  any  predestina- 
tion, divine  grace  was  given 
to  one  more  than  another; 

5.  "Affirmed  that  Christ 
died  alike,  and  equally  for 
all  men ; 

6.  "The  same  grace  nec- 
essary for  salvation  was  of- 
fered alike  to  all  men.    Said 

7.  "That  a  man  without 
grace  was  capable  of  faith 
and  holy  desires;  and  tiiat 

8.  "Every  man  is  born  in 
a  state  of  perlect  freedom 
of  will  equally  capable  of 
resisting  the  influence  of 
grace  as  of  complying  with 
its  suggestions."  Haw.  i. 
321. 

9.  "He  denied  original  sin." 


374 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


A.  D.  1087.  Pope  Victor 
III.  overcame  Clement  III., 
his  rival  pope. 

A.  1).  1088.  Pope  Urban 
II.  excommunicated  Pope 
Clement  III.  and  all  who 
adhered  to  him,  which  in- 
cluded all  the  bishops  of 
Germany  but  five. — Bow.  ii. 
414. 

A.  D.  1089.  Pope  Pas- 
chalis  II.  encouraged  treas- 
on and  rebellion  in  the  son 
of  Henry,  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many.— Bowers,  ii.  450. 

POPES    OF    THE    TWELFTH     CEN- 
TURY. 

A.  D.  1114.  Some  Mani- 
cheans  were  burnt. — J  or.  iii. 
218. 

A.  D.  1118.  Pope  Gelasius 
II.  left  tbe  pope's  throne  to 
his  rival,  Gregory  VIII. ,  and 
fled  to  France. — Reeves,  337. 

A.  D.  1119.  PopeCallix- 
tus  II.  was  chosen  by  the 
cardinals  of  Cluny,  in  France, 
from  whence  he  went  to 
Tholouss  and  excommunicat- 
ed certain  heretics,  proba- 
bly the  Christian  Albigenses, 
thence  to  Rome  and  impris- 
oned Pope  Gregory  VIII. 

A.  D.  1124.  PopeHonor- 
ius  II.  was  an  unsuccessful 
general. 

A.  D.  1130.     Pope  Inno- 


10.  "Infants  have  no  need 
of  remission,  but  yet  need 
baptism. 

11.  "He  preached  a  per- 
fection attainable  in  this 
life.''  Mil.  i.  413.  See,  also, 
Mosh.  i.  155.  Wad.  161. 
Haw.  i.  320. 

Great  allowances  are  to 
be  made  for  this  account; 
some  part  of  what  was  at- 
tributed to  him,  even  while 
alive,  he  denied,  and  all  is 
reported  by  enemies,  and  no 
two  scarcely  agree.  Yet  I 
"far  prefer  his  anathema- 
tized faith  and  virtuous  life, 
to  the  corruption  and  im- 
morality opposed  to  hira. 
The  celebrated  letter  attrib- 
uted to  him  as  written  to  a 
widow,  containing  unscrip- 
tural  doctrine,  he  denied 
having  written."  Milner,  i. 
413. 

The  Romans  had  adopted 
much  of  what  is  now  called 
Calvinism.  Jovinian  assert- 
ed the  "perpetuity  of  grace 
in  the  elect,"'  and  that  those 
once  baptized  can  never  be 
subverted  by  the  devil.  Mil. 
i.  455. 

Milner  says:  "So  far  as  it 
respects  the  doctrines  of 
sanctifying  grace,  his  doc- 
trine was  the  same  as  that 
now  called  Socinianism,"  i, 
e.f  Unitarianisra.     Mil.  i.  416. 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      375 


cent  11.  held  a  council  at 
Lateran  of  1,000  bishops,  and 
was  hastily  elected  by  six- 
teen cardinals,  to  oppose 
Peter,  his  rival.  The  Ko- 
mans  chose  Peter,  i.  e.^  An- 
acletus  II. — Bow.  ii.  464. 

A.  D.  1143.  Pope  Celes- 
tine  II.  was  a  man  oi"  a  hu- 
mane spirit.  The  immortal 
Manicheans  still  troubled 
the  pope. 

A.  D.  1144.  Pope  Lucius 
II.  The  Romans  would  not 
let  him  reign  as  king,  and 
he  was  slain  JSghting  for  the 
crown. 

.  A.  D.  1145.  Pope  Eugen- 
ius  III.  continued  the  war 
for  temporal  power. 

A.  D.  1147.  Abelard  lived. 

A.  D.  1153.  Pope  Anas- 
tasius  IV.  was  a  man  of 
peace. 

A.  D.  1154.  Pope  Adrian 
IV.  raged  because  King 
Frederick  would  not  hold 
his  stirrup.  The  king  let  him 
rage.  He  was  an  English- 
man. He  quarreled  with 
the  Emperor  of  Germany, 
but  confessed  his  error.  He 
authorized  Henry  II.,  King 
of  England,  to  invade  Ire- 
land and  ''subjugate  it,  and 
make  them  pay,  by  all  pos^ 
sible    means    their    tribute 


St.  Augustine  maintained 
the  doctrines  of  ''original 
sin;  an  eternal  purpose  of 
God,  or  predestination,  with 
regard  to  those  who  shall  be 
saved,  and  that  they,  and 
they  only,  will  finally  obtain 
it."     Haw.  i.  323. 

A.  D.  430.  After  Rome, 
or  rather  Augustine,  con- 
demned Pelagius,  German- 
us,  a  Catholic,  visited  En- 
gland to  oppose  Agricola, 
the  son  of  the  Pelagian  Bish- 
op Severinus.  Milner  says 
(i.  458)  "  the  Pelagians  came 
to  a  conference ;  the  doc- 
trines of  grace  were  de- 
bated;" "Pelagianism  was 
reduced  to  silence;"  "in 
Gaul  the  doctrine  of  Semi- 
Pelagianism  still  maintained 
its  ground."  Then  come  in 
the  labors  of  Celestine  (431) 
and  Patrick. 

A.  D.  460.  On  the  banks 
of  the  beautiful  river  Clyde, 
at  Bonnaven,  between  Dum- 
barton and  Glasgow,  was 
born,  A.  D.  372,  of  a  British 
family,  "Patricus  Succath." 
The  village  is  now  called 
Kirkpatrick.  His  father  was 
a  deacon  in  the  village 
church,  and  Patrick  was 
the  child  of  many  prayers. 
O'Neal,  an  Irish  pirate,  cap- 
tured the  child  at  Britague, 


376 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


to  the  Koman  See  a  penny  a 
year  for  each  house." — Bow. 
ii.  478. 

A.  D.  1159.  Pope  Alex- 
ander III.  held  the  throne  in 
opposition  to  Pope  Victor  III. 
They  mutually  excommuni- 
cated and  cursed  each  other. 
Alexander,  in  his  haste  to 
put  on  the  scarlet  mantle, 
astonished  all  the  cardinals 
with  the  cap  at  his  heels. 

A.  D.  1160.  Heretics  in  En- 
gland were  beaten,  scourged, 
burnt  in  the  face,  and  turned 
adrift  as  outlaws  to  perish, 

A.  D.  1167.  Some  Mani- 
cheans  were  burnt  in  Bur- 
gundy. 

A.  D.  1181.  Armies  march 
against  the  Albigenses. 

A.  D.  1181.  Pope  Lucius 
III.  Avas  the  first  pope  elec- 
ted, according  to  the  decree 
of  the  Lateran  Council,  i.  e.^ 
by  two  parts  out  of  three  of 
the  electors.  He  fought  the 
Romans,  cursed  the  Chris- 
tians (Albigenses),  and  urg- 
ed on  the  crusades. — Bow.  ii. 
525. 

A.  D.  1185.  Pope  Urban 
III.  quarreled  with  the  Em- 
peror of  Germany  and  oth- 
ers, who  resisted  his  ambi- 
tion. 

A.  D.  1187.     Pope  Grego- 


where  the  parents  had  gone, 
and  the  child  was  sold  as  a 
slave  into  Ireland.  "In  a 
strange  land,"  said  he,  "  the 
Lord  called  my  sins  to  my 
mind,  and  had  pity  on  me.'' 
After  six  years  he  was  re- 
leased from  bondage,  aged 
then  twenty-two.  The  de- 
sire to  bring  his  captors  to 
the  knowledge  of  Christ  did 
not  forsake  him.  Ordained 
a  minister  of  the  gospel,  he 
became  the  apostle  of  Ire- 
land, and  is  now  known  as 
St.  Patrick.  He  was  again 
captured  and  sold  in  Gaul, 
but  released  by  Christian 
mercliants.  In  his  forty- 
fifth  year  he  was  ordained 
in  Britain,  and  Patrick  after- 
ward made  bishop,  complet- 
ed the  conversion  of  Ireland 
to  the  Christian  faith.  The 
story  that  he  was  a  Catholic, 
with  its  attendant  wonders, 
is  the  fiction  of  a  later  date. 

"Some  very  handsome 
youths  were  exposed  for  sale 
in  Rome !'' 

"Of  what  country  are 
they?"  said  Gregory,  after- 
ward pope. 

"Of  the  island  of  Britain," 
was  the  reply. 

"Are  the  inhabitants  of 
that  island  Christians  or  Pa- 
gans ?"  said  the  very  learned 
Gregory. 


ROMAN    ClIURCir. 


CIIKISTIAN    CHUKCII. 


377 


ry  VIII.  urged  on  the  cru- 
sades ;  yet  he  was  too  good 
to  1)6  a  pope. 

A.  D.  1187.  Pope  Clem- 
ent III.  The  popes  now 
gained  the  crown  of  Rome, 
and  returned  to  reside  there, 
after  having  been  expelled 
for  tiity  j^ears. 

A.  D.  1191.  Pope  Celes- 
tine  III.  He  endeavored  to 
force  the  priests  in  Bohemia 
to  put  away  their  wives  and 
concubines  in  vain. — Bow. 
ii.  534.  Connected  with  his 
name  is  the  story  of  the 
stone  chairs,  with  a  hole  in 
the  seat,  and  the  female  pope. 
Jor.  iii.  245. 

A.  D.  1198.  Pope  Inno- 
cent III.  was  a  bloody  tyrant, 
who  raised  crusades  against 
the  Christians,  called  Albi- 
genses,  whom  he  endeavored 
to  exterminate,  sparing  nei- 
ther age  nor  sex. — Bow.  ii. 
546.  The  Council  of  Later- 
an,  held  1215,  decided  or 
established  Transubstantia- 
tion. 

A.  D.  1199.  Some  here- 
tics were  hanged,  some 
burnt,  and  some  beheaded 
in  Italy.  Jor.  iii.  249. 

COUNCILS  OF  THE  12th  CENTURY 

*XI.  A.  D.  1112.  The  first 
Lateran  "General  Council"  of 


"They  are  pagans,"  was 
the  reply. 

Gregory    sighed!!! 

"What  is  the  name  of  the 
nation  ?"  said  he. 

"Angli  (Angel)  it  was 
said." 

"In  truth  they  have  an- 
gelic countenances,  and  it 
is  a  pity  they  should  not  be 
co-heirs  with  the  angels  in 
heaven !" 

"What  is  the  province 
from  whence  they  came?" 

"Deira,"  (Northumber- 
land,) was  the  reply. 

"  It  is  well,  Deira,  snatched 
from  the  wrath  of  God!  and 
called  to  the  mercy  of 
Christ." 

"What  is  the  name  of 
their  king?" 

"Ella,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Alleluia  should  be  sung 
in  those  regions."  Mil.  i. 
515. 

This  Gregory  soon  became 
pope,  and  "sent  St.  Austin 
and  forty  monks"  to  con- 
vert those  natural  angels 
into  Catholic  saints. 

"The  mountains  of  Cam- 
bria still  ailbrded  a  race  (if 
not  of  primitive  Ciiristians, 
though  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
many  such  were  among  them 
yet)  of  men  who  refused  to 
obey  Gregory  and  Austin." 
Haw.  i.  352. 

Mosheim  states  that:  "Eth- 
elbert,  the  King  of  Kent, 
the  most  considerable  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon   princes,   mar- 


378 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


"  upward  of  an  hundred  bish- 
ops, met  in  Rome."  Paschal, 
the  pope,  confessed  his  er- 
rors of  faith  in  rekition  to 
concessions  made  to  Henry 
v.,  Emperor  of  Germany. 
He  was  pardoned.  Reeves, 
337. 

A.  D.  1118.  Another  coun- 
cil met  in  the  same  church. 
Henry  V.  drove  Pope  Gehx- 
sius  II,  out  of  Italy,  and  made 
Bourdin  pope.     Reeves,  337. 

*A.  D.  1123.  A  General 
Council  met  in  the  same 
church  (of  300  bishops  and 
600  abbots),  and  compro- 
mised the  question  with 
Henry  V.  This  council  con- 
demned "  the  concubinage 
of  the  clergy."  Reeves,  p. 
338. 

A.  D.  1131.  The  Council 
of  Rheims  forbid  burial  to 
those  who  died  in  "tilts  and 
tournaments." 

A.  D.  1139.  At  a  council 
of  an  hundred  bishops  at 
Lateran,  Pope  Innocent  II. 
said:  "Rome  is  the  capital 
of  the  world,  and  all  eccle- 
siastical dignities  are  held 
and  received  by  permission 
of  the  Roman  pontiffs  *  * 
*    *     as  by  fief." 

A.  D.  1167.  Some  Mani- 
cheans  were  burnt  in  Bur- 
gundy. 


ried  Bertha,  daughter  of  the 
King  of  France  (aCatholic), 
who  by  her  influence,  and 
the  pious  efforts  of  the  clergy 
who  followed  her  into  Brit- 
ain, gradually  formed  in  the 
mind  of  the  king  an  inclina- 
tion to  the  Christian  (Cath- 
olic) religion;  while  the 
king  was  in  this  favorable 
disposition,  Gregory  the 
Great,  A.  D.  596,  sent  over 
forty  monks,  with  Austin  at 
their  head,  in  order  to  bring 
to  perfection  what  the  pious 
queen  had  so  happily  begun. 
This  monk,  seconded  by  the 
zeal  and  assistance  of  the 
queen,  converted  the  king 
and  the  greatest  part  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Kent,  laid 
anew  the  foundation  of  the 
British  Church,  and  was  made 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury." 
"  He  was  invested  by  Pope 
Gregory  with  power  over  all 
British  subjects  and  Saxon 
princes,  and  was  the  first 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury." 
i.  157. 

Austin  found  in  England, 
when  he  came  there,  one 
archbishop  and  seven  bish- 
ops, supplied  with  godly  gov- 
ernors and  abbots,  and  that 
the  church  was  in  goodly 
order,  at  Bangor  particular- 
ly. Dinoth  the  abbot  as- 
sured Augustine  that  they 
owed  him  no  subjection :  that 
their  bishops  had  been  in- 
dependent of  Rome:    that 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      379 


*Xin.  A.  D.  1179.  March 
5.  The  Third  (Thirteenth 
General)  Council  of  Lateran 
met  (300  bishops),  and  made 
provisions  for  lepers  to  form 
churches,  Fleury,  xv.  466. 
Jor.  iii.  242. 

A.  D.  1199.  Some  here- 
tics were  hanged,  others 
burned  or  beheaded  in  Italy. 

COUNCILS    OF    THE    THIRTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

*XIV.  A.  D.  1215.  No- 
vember 11.  The  Fourth  Lat- 
eran, and  Fourteenth  Gen- 
eral Council  met  and  estab- 
lished the  Confessional,  and 
instigated  the  slaughter  of 
the  Christian  Albigenses. 
Reeves,  378,  379. 

A.  D.  1215.  King  John, 
of  England,  granted  the  Mag- 
na Charta.     Reeves,  376. 

A.  D.  1229.  The  Council 
of  Toulouse  established  a 
severe  and  sanguinary  in- 
quisition against  Christians 
who  did  not  submit  to  Rome. 
Jor.  iii.  310. 

A.  D.  1230.  The  Prus- 
sians were  pagans,  but  by 
a  "bloody  war  of  fifty-three 
years  they  were  compelled" 
to  become  Catholics.  Jor. 
iii.  311. 


the  bishops  of  Rome  had  no 
more  right  to  their  obedience 
than  other  Christians  had, 
and  that  the  bishop  of  Caer- 
leon  upon  Usk  was  their 
proper  superior.  In  revenge 
for  this  honest  assertion  of 
independency,  the  pagan 
Kentish  king  procured  the 
invasion  and  slaughter  of  the 
British  monks  mentioned 
above.  So  says  Galfridus 
Monometensis,  B.  iv.  C.  12. 
See  Nicholls  on  the  Common 
Prayer. 

But  Milner  thinks  that  the 
"Welsh  monks,  having  the 
Pelagian  heresy,"  were  not 
orthodox.  He  thinks  the 
Romans  also  differed  from 
Welsh  in  using  trine  immer- 
sion. 

He  says:  "What could  be 
the  meaning  of  his  wishing 
the  Britons  to  baptize  after 
the  Roman  manner?  This 
question  has  exercised  the 
critical  talents  of  authors. 
After  all,  as  baptism  by  tri- 
nal  immersion  was  then  the 
Roman  mode,  this  seems  to 
give  the  most  natural  ac- 
count of  the  circumstance, 
i.  521. 

Trine  immersion  was  pro- 
bably first  introduced  in  Af- 
rica to  illustrate  the  bap- 
tismal formula,  and  adopted 


380 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


A.  D.  1231.  The  Council 
of  Anjou  declared  clandes- 
tine marriages  void. 

A.  D.  1299.  The  Jews  in 
France  were  stripped  of  all 
their  effects  and  banished. 

POPES    OF    THK   THIRTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

A.  D.  1216.  Pope  Hono- 
rius  II.  accepted  the  gift  of 
the  Isle  of  Man  from  King 
Reginald,  who  feared  that 
it  would  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  English.  The  popes 
were  now  the  most  powerful 
monarchs. 

A.  D.  1227.  Pope  B.  Gre- 
gory IX.  excommunicated 
the  Emperor  of  Germany, 
for  not  setting  out  on  the 
crusades  soon  enough,  and 
was  so  provoked  when  Fred- 
erick did  start,  that  he  did 
not  sue  him  to  take  off  the 
excommunication,  that  he 
wrote  to  the  princes  in  the 
Holy  Land  to  oppose  him, 
and  to  others  at  home  to  in- 
vade his  dominions;  the 
pope  taking  part  in  the  rob- 
bery, while  Frederick  took 
and  fortified  Jerusalem. 

A.  D.  1211.  Pope  Celes- 
tine  IV.  held  the  popedom 
eighteen  days  out  of  from 
one  to  two  years'  vacancy. 

A.  D.  1243.     Pope   Inno- 


at  Rome  to  confirm  the  Trin- 
ity. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  kings  in 
England  entered  tlie  pale  of 
the  cluirch,  manv  of  ihem  at 
the  instigation  of  their  fair 
consorts,  and  ordered  their 
subjects  to  be  of  their  mas- 
ter's religion. 

THE  ANCIENT  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH- 
ES IN  ENGLAND. 

"The  Britons  were  inex- 
orable, and  refused  to  ack- 
nowledge Austin's  authority." 

"If  you  will  not  have  peace 
with  brethren,  said  the  new 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
roused  at  length  into  an  un- 
becoming v.'armth,  you  will 
have  war  with  enemies,  and 
if  you  will  not  preach  to  the 
English  the  way  of  life 
(Popish  new  doctrine),  you 
will  suffer  death  at  theii 
hands." 

It  happened^  afterward, 
that,  in  an  invasion  of  the 
Pagan  Saxons  of  the  North, 
the  primitive  Christians  of 
Wales  to  the  number  of 
twelve  hundred  were  cruel- 
ly destroyed. 

The  following  lines  of  Ben 
Bariah,  the  chief  of  the 
bards,  translated  from  the 
Welsh  by  Archbishop  Usher 


KOMAN   CHURCH. 


CHKISTIAN   CHURCH. 


381 


cent  ly.  excommunicated 
the  Emperor  of  Germany  and. 
caused  a  rebellion,  foment- 
ed war,  and  died  of  grief  and 
shame. 

A.  D.  1254.  Pope  Alex- 
ander IV.  was  ambitious, 
loved  war,  and  was  driven 
from  Rome. 

A.  D.  1261.     Pope  Urban 

IV.  was  chosen  after  the 
see  had  been  vacant  three 
months.  He  encouraged  war, 
and  cursed  the  Emperor  of 
Germany. 

A.  D.  1265.  Pope  Clem- 
ent IV.  was  chosen  after  a 
vacancy  of  four  months. 

A.  D.  1271.  Pope  B.  Gre- 
gory X.  was  chosen  by  way 
of  compromise  after  the  see 
had  been  vacant  two  years, 
nine  months  and  two  days. 

A.  D.  1276.  Pope  Inno- 
cent V.  held  the  papal  throne 
five  months. 

A.  D.  1276.     Pope  Adrian 

V.  was  not  consecrated. 

A.  D.  1276.  Pope  John 
XX.  was  an  ignorant  fortune- 
teller, inconsiderate,  yet  a 
friend  of  learning. 

A.  D.  1277.  Pope  Nicho- 
las III.  was  chosen  after  a 
vacancy  of  six  months.  He 
was  ambitious  and  revenge- 
ful.    Entered   a    conspiracy 


will  show  how  they  regarded 
the  Roman  jpriests  : 

"Wo  be  to  that  Priest  Yborn 
That  will  not  cleanly  weed  his  corn, 
And  preach  his  charge  among  : 
Wo  be  to  that  shepherd.     I  say, 
That  will  not  watch  his  fold  alway 
As  to  his  office,  doth  belong. 
Wo  be  to  him  that  doth  not  keep, 
From  Romish  savage  wolves  his  sheep 
With  stall"  and  weapon  strong. 

— Archbishop  Usher,  A.  Ir.  Bel.,  pp. 
82,  83. 

VII.  Century.  In  the  next 
century  we  find  the  (next) 
archbishop  laboring  "to 
bring  the  British  churches 
into  conformity  with  the 
Church  of  Rome."  (Mil.  i. 
526.) 

And  in  the  eighth  century 
the  Venerable  Bede,  Roman 
Catholic,  records  that,  "  The 
Scots  do  not  at  all  diff"er 
from  the  Britons  in  their 
conversation,  for  Daganus 
(one  of  the  old  preachers) 
coming  among  us,  not  only 
refused  to  eat  with  us,  but 
would  not  even  partake  of 
provisions  in  the  same  lodg- 
ing." "Even  to  this  day  it 
is  the  custom  of  the  Britons 
(Welsh)  to  hold  the  faith 
and  the  religion  of  the  An- 
glo-Saxons in  no  sort  of  es- 
timation."— Bede,  lib.  2,  ch. 
4  and  20. 

Milner  says :  "  The  Roman 


382 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


against  the  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, because  he  would  not 
give  his  daughter  to  his 
nephew  in  marriage. 

A.  D.  1281.  Pope  Martin 
III.  was  chosen  after  a  va- 
cancy of  three  months;  he 
excommunicated  the  Greek 
emperor. 

A.  D.  1285.  Pope  Hono- 
rius  IV.  In  his  day  took 
place  the  barbarous  conspi- 
racy and  massacre  in  Sicily. 
Bovvers,  iii.  31. 

A.  D.  1288.  Pope  Nicho- 
las IV.  was  elected  after  the 
see  had  been  vacant  one 
year.  He  was  too  good  for 
the  office. 

A.  D.  1294.  Pope  Celes- 
tine  V.  was  elected  after  the 
see  had  been  vacant  over 
two  years  and  three  months. 
He  was  a  good  man,  and  so 
resigned  the  office. 

A.  D.  1294.  "Pope  Boni- 
face VII.,  an  ambitious,  bad 
man,  imprisoned  and  bar- 
barously treated  Pope  Ce- 
lestine.     Du  Pin,  v.  2. 

COUNCILS    OF    THE    FOURTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

A.  D.*  1311.  October  16. 
The  General  Council  of  Vien- 
nemet,  with  three  hundred 
bishops.     It  condemned  the 


Church,  however,  acquired 
more  and  more  influence, 
though  it  was  very  far  from 
pervading  the  whole  of  the 
British  isles  at  the  end  of 
the  century." — i.  532. 

"Attempts  were  made  all 
this  time  by  the  bishops  of 
Rome  to  induce  the  Irish  to 
unite  themselves  to  the  En- 
glish Catholic  Church,  but 
in  vain.  John,  the  bishop 
of  Rome,  wrote  letters  also 
into  Ireland  against  the  Pe- 
lagian heresy,  which  was  re- 
viving there.  Edwin,  Cath- 
olic King  of  the  Northum- 
brians, after  having  six  years 
served  the  cause  of  Christ 
(or  of  the  pope),  was  slain 
in  a  battle  which  he  fought 
with  Carduella,  a  British 
prince,  a  Christian  by  pro- 
fession. The  British  Chris- 
tians looked  on  the  English 
(Catholics)  only  as  Pagans," 
as  Bede  testifies.  Miluer,  i. 
529. 

The  attentive  reader  has 
discovered  in  the  new  church 
a  continual  course  of  perfi- 
dy, a  violation  of  every  mo- 
ral sentiment,  a  total  want 
of  Christian  spirit. 

Milner  says :  "  Laurentius 
in  conjunction  with  Mellitus, 
Bishop  of  London,  and  Jus- 
tus, Bishop  of  Rochester, 
endeavored  to  reduce  the 
"Scots,  who  inhabited  Ire- 
land," to  a  conformity  with 
the  English  Church.  The 
three  prelates  wrote  to  them 


^OMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


383 


Knights   Templar.     Reeves, 
p.  404. 

POPES  OF  THE  FOURTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

A.  D.  1304.  Pope  'Bene- 
dict X.  annulled  the  un- 
righteous decrees  of  Boni- 
face, and  refused  to  see  his 
mother  dressed  as  a  princess. 

A.  D.  1305.  Pope  Clem- 
ent V.  absolved  the  king 
condemned  by  Boniface, 
and  condemned  the  Knights 
Templar.  He  procured  the 
popedom  by  simony;  lived 
in  adultery  with  the  Count- 
ess of  Perigord;  was  avari- 
cious, and  a  slave  to  the 
French  king.  Bovvers,  iii. 
72.  Cruel,  etc.  Reeves,  409. 
He  resided  at  Avignon,  in 
France,  where  the  popes  re- 
sided for  some  seventy  years. 
The  Italians  called  it  the 
Babylonish  captivity.  Clem- 
ent died  in  1314,  and  it  was 
full  two  years  before  the  fac- 
tions succeeded  in  electing 
in  A.  D.  1316,  Pope  John 
XXI. 

A.  D.  1316.  Pope  John 
XXI.  retracted  his  doctrine 
wdien  it  was  condemned.  lb. 
iii.  87. 

A.  D.  1334.  Pope  Bene- 
dict XI.  was  called   a  good 


with  this  view,  and  declared 
themselves  to  be  sent  by  the 
Roman  See  to  propngate  the 
gospel  among  the  Pagan  na- 
tions. L;iurenlius  complain- 
ed of  tiie  bigotry  of  a  cer- 
tain Irish  bishop,  who,  com- 
ing to  Canterbury,  refused 
to  eat  at  the  same  table,  or 
even  in  the  same  house  with 
him.  The  archbishop  could, 
not  prevail  either  with  the 
Britons  or  with  the  Irish  to 
enter  into  his  views.  'Even 
the  present  times,'  says  our 
author,  '  declare  how  little 
success  he  had,'  At  the  pe- 
riod in  which  Bede  concludes 
his  history,  the  greatest  part 
of  the  British  cliurches  re- 
mained still  distinguished 
from  the  English.  The  bish- 
ops of  Rome  continued  to 
superintend  the  latter. — i. 
526. 

THE  YEAR  OF  OUR  LORD. 

"A  rescript  of  Justinian, 
A.  541,  is  dated  by  the  year 
of  the  emperor,  without  men- 
tion of  consuls ;  and  from 
this  year  the  custom  of 
counting  the  years  of  the 
consulates  was  dropped,  and 
tiienceforward  they  made 
use  of  the  year  of  the  reign- 
ing emperor.'"  "  A.  553. 
Dionysius  Exiguus,  in  his 
Cychis  Paschalis^  intro- 
duced a  new  era  from  the 
birth  of  Christ."     Jor.  iii.  36. 

VIII.  Century.  At  this 
time   nearly  all    the   books 


384 


CHURCH    HISTORl 


pope;  he  condemned  the 
former  pope's  vision. 

A.  D.  1342.  Pope  Clem- 
ent VI.  was  a  gentleman, 
and  very  fond  of  the  ladies. 

A.  D.  1352.  Pope  Inno- 
cent VI.  was  good  enough 
for  a  better  office. 

A.  D.  13G2.  Pope  Urban  V. 
cursed  Barmado  for  calling 
him  a  fornicator.  He  was  a 
pretty  good  man. 

A.  D.  1370.  Pope  Grego- 
ry XL  only  cursed  the  Flor- 
entines and  a  few  others; 
being  compared  with  other 
popes  a  good  man. 

Mosheim  says  :  "  Thus  the 
union  of  the  Latin  Church 
under  one  head,  was  de- 
stroyed at  the  death  of  Gre- 
gory XL,  and  was  succeeded 
by  the  deplorable  dissen- 
sions, commonly  known  by 
the  name  of  the  great  west- 
ern schism.  This  dissension 
was  fomented  with  such 
dreadful  success,  and  arose 
to  such  a  shameful  hight, 
that,  for  fifty  years,  the 
church  had  two  or  three  dif- 
ferent heads  at  the  same 
time ;  each  of  the  contend- 
ing popes  forming  plots,  and 
thundering  out  anathemas 
against  their  competitors." 
Mosh.  i.  390. 

A.  D.  1378.  Pope  Urban 
VI.  reigned  in  opposition  to 
Clement    VII.     He    was    a 


written  by  the  Christians  ad- 
hering to  the  pure  Bible 
faith  having  been  burned, 
and  the  publication  of  oth- 
ers being  prohibited  by  law, 
the  millions  of  Christians 
suffered  on  in  silence;  their 
smothered  groans  or  the 
light  of  their  martyr  fires 
only  guiding  our  way  on 
through  the  still  increasing 
gloom  of  the  dark  ages. 

The  remarks  of  the  deep- 
ly learned  and  intensely 
"  orthodox  "  Dr.  Stanley,  of 
the  English  Church,  embrace 
so  much  truth  in  a  few  words 
that  I  will  insert  them 
Speaking  of  Arianism,  which 
he  confounds  with  the  true 
church,  and  the  origin  of 
which  he  dates  with  the  rise 
of  popery,  in  325.  He  says 
of  what  he  calls  Arianism: 

'•For  three  hundred  years 
after  the  date  of  its  origin 
— from  the  fourth  to  the 
seventh  century — it  repre- 
sented considerable  power, 
both  political  and  religious, 
and  this  not  only  in  the 
Eastern  regions  of  its  birth, 
but  in  our  own  Western  and 
Teutonic  nations.  Tiie  whole 
of  the  vast  Gothic  popula- 
tion which  descended  on  the 
Roman  Empire,  so  far  as  it 
was  Chi'istian  at  all,  held  to 
the  faith  of  the  Alexandrian 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


tJHRISTIAN   CHURCH.       385 


bloody,    arrogant,     cursing- 
cruel  fellow.  Bowers,  iii.  142. 

Clement  VII.  was  elected 
at  Fondi,  September  20, 1378. 
The  cardinals,  after  describ- 
ing the  tumults  of  the  Ro- 
mans, declared  that  they 
elected  Urban  in  the  per- 
suasion that  he  would  refuse 
the  pontificate.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  consented  to  the 
choice,  was  enthroned  and 
crowned,  and  assumed  the 
name  of  pope,  though  he 
rather  merited  that  of  apos- 
tate and  antichrist.  They 
then  anathematized  him 
as  a  usurper,  and  invoked 
against  him  all  aids  and  suc- 
cors, both  divine  and  human. 
Wad.  p.  409. 

Urban  discovered  a  plot 
to  depose  him.  He  imme- 
diately seized  six,  the  most 
suspected  of  the  body,  and 
after  subjecting  them  to  tlie 
utmost  severity  of  torture, 
cast  them  into  a  narrow  and 
noisome  dungeon  in  Nocera, 
Naples;  but  some  reverses 
obliged  the  pope  to  take 
refuge  at  Genoa;  he  carried 
his  prisoners  along  with  him 
in  chains,  and  afHicted  them 
with  severe  hardships  ;  and, 
during  a  year  of  sojourn  in 

that  city  he  could  never  be 
25 


heretic    (Arius).      Our  first 
Teutonic     version     of     the 
Scriptures  was  by  an  Arian 
missionary,  Ulfilas.    lihe first 
conqueror  of  Rome,  Alaric, 
the  first  conqueror  of  Africa, 
Genseric,  were  Arians.   The- 
odoric    the  Great,    King  of 
Italy,  and  hero  of  the  Nibe- 
lungen  Lied,  was  an  Arian- 
The  vacant  place  in  his  mas- 
sive tomb  at  Ravenna  is  a 
witness    of    the    vengeance 
which    the    orthodox  (Van- 
dals)  took  on   his  memory, 
when  on  their  triumph  they 
tore  down  the  porphyry  vase 
in  which  his  Arian  subjects 
had     enshrined    his    ashes. 
The  ferocious  Lombards  were 
Arians    till    they  began    to 
be  won  over  by  their  queen, 
Theodelinda,  at  the  close  of 
the  sixth  century.     But  the 
most     remarkable      strong, 
holds  of  Arianism  were  the 
Gothic  kingdoms   of   Sj^ain 
and    Southern    France.     In 
France    it    needed    all    the 
])Ower  of  Clovis,  the  one  or- 
thodox chief  of  the  barbar- 
ian  nations,  to  crush  it,  on 
the    plains    of    Poitiers.     In 
Spain  it  ^vas  the  j)revailing 
religion  till  the  sixth  centu- 
ry,"    pp.  71,  72. 

Questions  :  Were  the  na- 
tions here  enumerated  al- 
ways "  Arian,"  or  were  tliey 
converted  from  Catholic  to 
Arian?  Or  were  they  Pa- 
gans, converted  by  Christian- 
missionaries  to  that  form  of 


386 


CHURCH    HISTOKY. 


moved  to  release  his  cap- 
tives. As  he  feared  the  in- 
convenience or  scandal  of 
dra<>:,2;ing  them  after  him 
through  a  second  journey, 
he  consigned  five  of  them 
to  sudden  and  secret  execu- 
tion. Most  assert"  that  he 
threw  them  into  the  sea  in 
sacks;  others  affirm  that 
they  were  strangled  in  pris- 
on, and  their  bodies  con- 
sumed by  quick-lime.  It  is 
certain  they  disappeared. 

ELECTION  AND  CHARACTER    OF 
BONIFACE    IX. 

In  the  October  of  1389 
Urban  died  at  Rome;  and 
as  soon  as  the  glad  intelli- 
gence reached  Avignon  and 
Paris,  great  wishes  were  ex- 
pressed and  some  hopes  en- 
tertained in  both  places, 
that  the  schism  would  thus 
terminate;  the  cardinals  of 
Home  entered  into  conclave ; 
iBoniface  IX.  was  placed  on 
the  throne,  for  which  his  ig- 
norance alone  was  sufficient 
to  disqualify  him.  But  Bon- 
iface sent  his  emissaries 
,among  all  the  nations  by 
whom  he  was  acknowledged, 
with  commissions  to  sell  the 
plenary  indulgence  to  all  in- 
vdiscriminately,  for  the  same 


Christianity  ?  as  Neander 
suggests.  If  the  first,  then 
Arianism  is  the  normal  con- 
dition of  Christianity. 

If  the  second,  then  we  are 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
in  the  fourth  century,  whole 
nations,  nearly  all  the  na 
tions  of  Catholics,  with 
all  their  kings,  bishops, 
priests,  princes,  and  people, 
so  suddenly,  and  silently 
and  effectually  changed 
their  religion,  and  became 
"  Arian,"  as  to  leave  no  date 
of  the  event,  raise  no  pro- 
test by  pope  or  clergy  at 
the  apostasy,  and  miss  no 
straggling  saint  or  sinner  to 
tell  the  story.  Who  believes 
it?  And  if  true,  where  is 
the  Catholic  firmness  ?  where 
is  the  promise?  where  the 
infallibility?  If,  third,  they 
were  Pagans  converted  to 
Christianity,  as  Neander  con- 
fesses, then  it  follows  that 
these,  being  converted  be- 
fore the  rise  of  Romanism, 
their  faith  was  the  faith  of 
the  original  Christians;  and 
that  these  Christians,  false- 
ly called  Arians,  were  the 
only  really  effective  mis- 
sionaries that  the  world  has 
ever  known. 

Indeed,  Dr.  Stanley  con- 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


387 


sum  which  their  journey  to 
Rome  would  have  cost  them. 
This  absolution  extended  to 
every  sort  of  offense  and  ap- 
pears not  to  have  been  pre- 
ceded even  by  the  ordinary 
formalities  of  the  confession 
or  penance;  it  was  purely 
and  undisguisedly  venal.  The 
necessary  consequences  of 
this  measure  were  sufficient- 
ly demoralizing;  but  the 
evil  was  multiplied  by  the 
imposture  of  certain  mendi- 
cants, and  others,  who  tra- 
versed the  country  with 
forged  indulgences,  which 
tliey  bartered  for  their  pri- 
vate profit. 

The  indulgence-mongers 
of  Boniface  IX.,  when  they 
arrived  at  any  city,  suspend- 
ed at  their  windows  a  flag^ 
with  the  arms  of  the  pope 
and  the  keys  of  the  church. 
Then  they  prepared  tables 
in  the  cathedral  church,  by 
the  side  of  the  altar,  cover- 
ed with  rich  cloths,  like 
bankers,  to  receive  the  pur- 
chase-money. They  then  in- 
formed the  people  of  the 
absolute  power,  which  the 
pope  had  vested  in  them,  to 
deliver  souls  from  purgatory, 
and  give  complete  remission 
to     all    who    bought    their 


fesses  that  the  doctrine  call- 
ed Arianism  has  always  pre- 
vailed in  the  popular  church. 
He  says: 

"  The  fundamental  princi- 
ple of  the  old  Arianism,  as 
separated  from  the  logical 
form  and  the  political  organ- 
ization which  it  assumed,, 
has  hardly  ever  departed 
from  the  church.  It  ha» 
penetrated  where  we  least 
expected  to  find  it.  The 
theological  opinions  of  many 
who  have  thought  them- 
selves, and  been  thought  by 
others,  most  orthodox,  have 
been  deeply  colored  by  the 
most  conspicuous  tendencies 
of  the  doctrine  of  Arius. 
Often  men  have  been  at- 
tacked as  heretics  only  be- 
cause they  agreed  too  close- 
ly with  the  doctrine  of  Ath- 
anasius.  '  Ingemuit  orbis  et 
miratus  est  se  esse  Arian- 
um'  (the  world  groaned  to 
find  itself  Arian)  is  a  pro- 
cess which  has  been  strange- 
ly repeated,  more  than  once, 
in  the  course  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal histor3\"     p.  74, 

Dr.  Stanley's  words  are 
suggestive.  "The  world 
groaned  to  find  itself  Arian" 
signifies,  that  it  has  always 
found  itself  Arian  ;  and 
that  the  so-called  orthodox 
church  is  forever  anathemat- 
izing itself  for  what  it  is,  and 
aping  the  creed-makers  in 
trying  to  be  what  it  is  not 


388 


CnURCII    HISTORY. 


wares.  If  the  German  cler- 
gy exclaimed  against  this 
base  traffic  of  spiritual  fa- 
vors, they  were  excommuni- 
cated. See  Sismondi,  Repub. 
Ital.  ch.  Ixii. 

A.  D.  1378  to  1429.  There 
were  antipopes  for  fifty 
years.    Jor.  iii.  375. 

The  Italian  cardinals,  at- 
tached to  the  interests  of 
Urban  VI.,  on  the  death  of 
that  pope  in  1389,  set  up  for 
his  successor,  Peter  Thoma- 
celli,  a  Neapolitan,  who 
took  the  name  of  Boniface 
IX.;  and  Clement  VII.,  dy- 
ing in  1394,  the  French  car- 
dinals raised  to  the  pontifi- 
cate Benedict  XIII.  Neither 
of  the  popes  could  be  pre- 
vailed on,  either  by  entreat- 
ies or  threats,  to  give  up  the 
pontificate.  The  Galilean 
Church,  highly  incensed  at 
this  obstinacy,  renounced 
solemnly,  in  a  council  hold- 
en  at  Paris,  in  1397,  all  sub- 
jection and  obedience  to 
both  pontiffs;  and  in  1398 
Benedict  was,  by  the  express 
orders  of  Charles  VI.,  de- 
tained prisoner  in  his  pal- 
ace at  Avignon.  Which  one 
of  these  was  infallible  ? 

A.  D.  1389.     Pope   Boni- 


"  Of  the  word  consubstan- 
tial,"  the  ground-work  of  the 
Trinitarian  creeds.  Dr.  Stan- 
ley says : 

"The  history  of  the  word 
is  full  of  strange  vicissitudes. 
It  was  born  and  nurtured,  if 
not  in  the  home,  at  least  on 
the  threshold  of  heresy.  It 
first  distinctly  appeared  in 
the  works  of  Origen ;  then 
for  a  moment  acquired  a 
more  orthodox  reputation  in 
the  writings  of  Dionysius 
and  Theognostus  of  Alexan- 
dria ;  then  it  was  colored 
witii  a  dark  shade  by  asso- 
ciation with  the  teaching  of 
Manes ;  next  proposed  as  a 
test  of  orthodoxy  at  the 
Council  of  Antioch  against 
Paul  of  Samosata,  and  then 
by  that  same  council  was 
condemned  as  Sabellian."  p. 
159. 

Jortin  says  that  in  the 
eighth  century  "The  old 
sects,  though  so  often  re- 
pressed by  the  laws  —  as 
those  of  the  Arians,  Mani- 
cheans  and  Marcionites  — 
acquired  new  strength  in 
the  East,  and  drew  over 
many  converts." 

Mosheim  says :  "  The  Ari- 
ans, Manicheans,  and  Mar- 
cionites, though  often  de- 
pressed by  the  force  cf  penal 
laws  and  by  the  power  of 
the  secular  arm,  gathered 
strength  in  the  East,  amidst 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.       889 


face   IX.   died    from    a    fit, 
brought  on  by  passion. 

COUNOILS    OF  THE  FIFTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

Council  of  Pisa  1409. 

A.  D.  1409.  Gregory  X. 
decreed  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  proceeds  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son  as  from 
one.  To  this  the  Greeks 
there  agreed.     Jor.  iii.  378 

A.  D.  1414.  The  Jews 
were  cruelly  persecuted. 

A.  D.  1414.  The  General. 
Council  of  Constance  this 
year  condemned  the  Albi- 
genses,  Wicklift',  and  Jerome ; 
and  burnt  Huss,  July  16, 
1415.    Reeves,  427. 

*A.  D.  1438,  February  15. 
The  General  Council  of  Flor- 
ence met,  and  seventy  bish- 
ops decided  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  proceeded  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son  ;  and  es- 
tablished the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation.  Reeves 
436,  437. 

A.  T>.  1439.  A  union  was 
"  patched  up"  with  the  Greek 
Church. 

"The  Council  of  Basil, 
held  A.  D.  1434,  extending 
its  pastoral  care  and  its  own 
jurisdiction  very  widely, 
thought  it  proper  not  to 
overlook  the  Jews,  who  were 


the  tumults  and  divisions 
with  which  tlie  Grecian  em- 
pire was  perpetually  agitat- 
ed, and  drew  great  numbers 
into  the  profession  of  their 
opinions." 

"  In  Europe  also  Arianism 
prevailed  greatly  among  the 
barbarous  nations  that  em- 
braced the  Christian  faith." 
Mosh.  i.  206. 

Tliat  is,  it  '■  prevailed  great- 
ly "  in  Asia  and  in  Greece 
among  the  learned  nations  ; 
and  in  Italy,  Germany,  Gaul 
and  Spain  among  the  pro- 
gressive nations. 

The  Second  General  Coun- 
cil of  Nice  met  September 
24,  787,  in  the  Church  of  St. 
Sophia,  in  Constantinople. 
It  added  no  more  to  Christ, 
but  brought  in  other  objects 
of  worship. 

Reeves  says:  "After  ma- 
ture deliberation  and  dis- 
cussion, we  solemnly  declare 
that  all  holy  pictures  and 
images,  especially  of  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord  and  Savior, 
of  his  immaculate  Mother 
our  Lady,  of  the  angels  and 
other  saints,  are  to  be  set 
up  in  churches  as  well  as  in 
other  places,  that  at  the 
sight  of  them  the  faithful 
may  remember  what  they 
represent;  that  they  are  to 
be  venerated  and  honored, 
not  indeed  with  that  supreme 
honor  and  worship  which  is 


890 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


numerous  in  that  city,  and 
in  Germany.  It  ordered  the 
prelates,  in  all  places  where 
there  were  Jews,  to  appoint 
learned  divines  to  preach  to 
them.  The  sovereign  princes 
were  obliged  to  send  all  the 
Jews  in  their  dominions  to 
attend  at  the  sermon,  and 
heavy  penalties  were  to  be 
inflicted  on  any  person  who 
should  hide  or  detain  them. 
At  the  same  time  it  was  for- 
bidden to  eat  with  them  or 
to  keep  their  company.  It 
was  not  lawful  to  have  foot- 
men, nurses,  physicians,  or 
farmers  of  that  nation,  or  to 
let  them  houses  near  any 
church,  or  in  the  middle  of 
any  city :  and  that  they 
might  be  the  more  easily 
known,  they  were  obliged 
to  wear  a  particular  habit. 
Lastly,  the  council  passed  a 
condemnation,  and  inflicted 
penalties  on  those  who  should 
pawn  to  them  the  sacred 
books,  crosses,  chalices,  and 
the  ornaments  of  churches.'' 
Jor.  xi.  232. 

"The  account  of  the  Jews 
who  have  been  plundered, 
sent  naked  into  banishment, 
starved,  tortured,  left  to  per- 
ish in  prisons,  hanged  and 
burnt  by  Christians,  would 
fill  many  volumes."  Jor.  ii. 
37. 

POPES    OF    THE   FIFTEENTH   CEN- 
TURY. 

A.  D.  1404.  Pope  Innocent 
yil.  opposed  Pope  Benedict 


called  Latria,  and  belongs  to 
God  alone,  but  with  a  rela- 
tive and  inferior  honor, such 
as  is  paid  to  the  cross,  to  tho 
gospel,  and  other  holy  things 
by  the  use  of  incense  or  of 
burning  lights."     p.  229. 

When  Justinian  began  to 
reign  •'  he  published  cruel 
edicts  to  compel  all  to  be 
of  his  religion."  Jortin. 

Combinations  increase 
power,  and  perseverance  in 
sures  success.  The  tolera- 
tion which  the  Christians 
extended  made  the  Catholics 
more  abusive;  and  their 
moderation  encouraged  their 
bigotry.  It  was  to  the  inter- 
est of  all  to  be  Catholics. 
They  thus  secured  peace, 
patronage  and  security,  and 
in  case  of  the  triumph  of 
popery  in  the  conflicts  con- 
stantly raging,  property,  and 
life  itself;  while,  excepting 
truth,  nothing  was  gained  by 
adherence  to  the  Christians, 
or  lost  by  leaving  them. 
The  Catholics  were  united 
a^d  supported,  and  sustained 
each  other,  avoiding  the 
Christians. 

THE  BEAST  AND  THE  FALSE 
PROPHET. 

The  reaction  from  Roman- 
ism now  began  to  be  felt 
The  Christians  living  in  Ara- 


ROMAN  CHURCn. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      391 


XIII.,  and  fled  from  Rome. 
Both  are  considered  false 
popes. 

A.  D.  1406.  Pope  Gregory 
XII.  At  this  time  there  were 
three  popes,  and  Gregory, 
the  true  pope,  was  pro- 
nounced by  the  Council  of 
Pisa,  1409,  unworthy  to  pre- 
side over  the  church.  Reeves, 
424. 

A.  D.  1409.  Pope  Alex- 
ander V.  was  mild  and  oblig- 
ing. 

A.  D.  1410.  Pope  John 
XXII.  or  John  XXIII.  Com- 
pare Reeves  426  with  622. 
There  were  yet  three  popes. 
This  was  a  warlike,  wicked 
man.  It  was  in  his  time  that 
the  council  sat  against  Wic- 
lif,  Huss,  and  the  Albigen- 
ses.  At  the  Council  of  Con- 
stance, in  1414,  as  he  sat  on 
his  throne,  an  owl  came 
screeching  from  its  hole  right 
before  the  pope,  and  stared 
him  in  the  face.  The  pope 
blushed,  sweat,  and  broke 
up  the  assembly.  At  the 
next  meeting  the  bird  again 
opposed  him,  fixing  his  big 
eyes  on  poor  Pope  John, 
who  not  to  be  beaten  the 
second  time,  cried  to  his  car- 
dinals to  heave  at  him  and 
turn  him  out.    They  did  so, 


bia  had,  in  some  measure, 
escaped  the  edge  of  the  Ro- 
man sword,  but  were  not 
only  left  unprotected  among 
the  Pagans,  but  encountered 
the  ill  will  of  the  Catholic 
Church;  and  the  Catholic 
Church  meant  the  Roman 
Government — the  political 
power.  Thus  alienated  from 
the  central  so-called  Chris- 
tian Government,  they  toil- 
ed for  the  conversion  of  the 
Pagans.  They  translated 
the  Scriptures  into  the  Ara- 
bic language,  and  the  de- 
scendants of  Ishmael  learn- 
ed and  loved  to  trace  their 
pedigree  to  Abraham  in  the 
records  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

A.  D.  569  was  born  Mo- 
hammed, the  false  prophet  of 
Arabia.  Ofa  noble  family,  yet 
Mohammed  was  poor.  The 
irtelligence  of  his  mind,  no 
less  than  the  grace  of  his 
person,  prepared  him  to  take 
advantage  of  the  corruptions 
of  Christianity,  and  rival  the 
pope  in  power.  His  intelli- 
gence readily  repudiated  the 
idolatry  of  his  people,  and 
embraced  the  unity  of  God 
set  forth  in  the  First  Com- 
mandment.  This  doctrine, 
so  long  the  central  truth  of 


392 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


and  dispatched  him  with 
their  canes.  Greg.  Rut.  397. 
The  cardinals  prevailed  on 
him  to  resign.  Reeves,  426. 
John,  finding  papers  circula- 
ting accusing  him  of  "  abom- 
inable ofFenses,''  abdicated 
on  the  2d  of  March,  and  the 
guards  being  removed,  March 
21,  he  left  the  city  of  Con- 
stance, at  night,  in  a  mili- 
tary disguise.     Wad.  425. 

A.  D.  1417.  Pope  Martin 
V.  incited  war  against  the 
Hussites. 

A.  D.  1431.  Pope  Euge- 
nius  IV.  incited  civil  war. 
At  this  time  it  was  decided 
that  councils  were  above 
popes.  October  1, 1437,  Eu- 
genius  was  convicted  of  con- 
tumacy ;  and  on  the  10th  of 
January  following,  he  cele- 
brated, in  defiance  of  the 
sentence,  the  first  session  of 
the  Council  of  Ferrara. 

November  5,  Felix  V.  was 
elected  pope.  But  as  Euge- 
nius  retained,  without  any 
defection,  the  obedience  of 
Italy  and  some  other  coun- 
tries, the  success  of  the  anti- 
papal  party  had  no  other 
eiFect  than  to  create  a  sec- 
ond scliism. 

A.  D.  1447.  Nicholas  V.  was 
elected.  Felix  V.  maintained 


Judaism,  had  fallen  into  Db- 
scurify.  Its  peculiar  friends, 
the  Jews,  were  now  over- 
thrown, scattered,  oppress- 
ed and  despised;  and  the 
Roman  power,  in  adopting 
Christianity,  had  ostracized 
the  sublime  doctrine  of  the 
unity  of  God,  and  had  given 
to  God  companions  and 
equals.  Mohammedans  say 
— and  their  history  is  enti- 
tled to  more  credit  on  this 
point  than  the  Catholic — 
that,  in  the  first  form  of  the 
Trinity,  the  three  Gods  were 
"  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
the  Virgin  Mary." 

In  the  fourth  century,  the 
ablest  trinitarian  theologi- 
ans yet  disputed  both  the 
personality  and  the  divinity 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Holy  Ghost.  "  The  Church 
Fathers  conceived  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  subordinate 
to  the  Father  and  the  Son ; 
the  first  of  tlie  beings  pro- 
duced by  the  Father  through 
the  Son>     Neander  i.  60S. 

Justin  Martyr  conceived 
of  it  as  a  Spirit  ^  standing  in 
some  relation  to  the  angels." 
Origen  describes  it  "  as  the 
only  begotten  of  the  Father 
through  the  Son,  to  whom 
not  onh^  being,  but  also  wis- 
dom and  holiness,  is  first 
communicated  by  the  Son; 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.      393 


his  scanty  court,  and  tlie 
faint  show  of  pontifical  maj- 
esty, at  Lausanne.  Germa- 
ny made  some  exertion  to 
remove  the  schism ;  it  con- 
tinued until  the  death  of 
Eu genius  in  1447. 

A.  D.  1447.  Pope  Nicho- 
las V.  was  a  very  weak  man. 

A.  D.  1449.  Felix  resigned. 

Eugenius  was  presently 
superseded  from  all  jurisdic- 
tion; but  it  was  not  until 
the  middle  of  April,  1439, 
that  the  council  published 
its  celebrated  "Eight  Prop- 
ositions "  against  that  pon- 
tiff, as  a  measure  preparato- 
ry to  his  deposition.  After 
eight  years  of  open,  or  dis- 
guised hostility,  Eugenius 
IV.  was  at  length  deposed. 

A.  D.  1455.  Pope  Callix- 
tus  III.  spared  no  pains  to 
enrich  his  family. 

A.  D.  1458.  Pope  Pius  II. 
Thomas  a'Kempis  lived  at 
this  age',  but  his  title  to 
the  authorship  of  the  "Imi- 
tation of  Christ "  is  disputed. 

A.  D.  1464.  Pope  Paul  II. 
was  cruel,  dishonest,  proud, 
miserly,  and  perjured. 

A.  D.  1471.  Pope  vSixtus 
IV.  was  a  conspirator  as  usu- 
al. He  founed  the  Vatican 
Library. 


dependent  on  him  in  all  these 
relations."     Neander  i.  609. 

Some  considered  "  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  something 
above  nature,  supervening 
to  the  original  faculties  of 
the  soul ;"'  an  "  agency  or  in- 
fluence."    Neander,  i.  610. 

The  "  three  persons  "  of 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit, 
was  held  by  the  Manicheans. 

Jortin  says:  "The  Mani- 
cheans fell  into  great  errors 
and  strangely  corrupted  the 
Christian  faith;  but  they 
were  much  misrepresented 
and  cruelly  treated.  The 
Manicheans  held  a  trinity  and 
the  consubstantiality  of  the 
persons,  but  thought  them 
distinct  as  three  men."  i. 
388,  389. 

Traces  of  the  original  Trin- 
ity are  found  m  the  "  three 
gods  in  the  Koran  (c.  4,  p.  81, 
c.  5,  p. 92),  and  are  obviously 
directed  against  our  Cathol- 
ic mystery ;  but  the  Arabic 
commentators  understand 
them  of  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Virgin  Mary,  a  her- 
etical Trinity,  maintained,  as 
it  is  said,  by  some  barbarians 
at  the  Council  of  Nice  (Eu- 
tych.  Annal.  tom.  i.  p.  440). 
But  the  existence  of  the 
Marionites  is  denied  l)y  the 
candid  Beausobre  (Hist,  de 
Manicheisme,  tom.  i.  p.  532). 


394 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


A.  D.  1484.  Pope  Inno- 
cent VIII.  had  sixteen  nat- 
ural children.  Bowers,  iii.  25. 

A.  D.  1492.  Pope  Alex- 
ander VI.,  a  great  gal- 
lant, possessing  uncommon 
capacity,  seduced  a  wid- 
ow, and  afterward  her  daugh- 
ter Vanozza,  by  whom  he 
had  four  sons  and  two 
daughters.  During  this  in- 
cestuous commerce,  he  was 
made  cardinal,  and  bargained 
for  the  popish  throne.  He 
made  cardinals  of  his  sons, 
and  appealed  to  Bajazet,  the 
Turk,  against  France;  in 
short  he  was  a  monster  in 
human  form.  Bowers,  iii. 
259-271. 

COUNCILS    OF    THE  SIXTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

*A.  D.  1545.  Pope  Clem- 
ent VII.  called  the  General 
Council  of  Trent,  December 
13.  It  was  opposed  to  Lu- 
ther and  the  lieformalion, 
and  sat  eighteen  year:=,  until 
1563,  continuing  under  five 
popes. 

POPES    OF   THE    SIXTEENTH   CEN- 
TURY. 

A.   D.   1503.     Pope    Pius 

III.  was  pope  about  a  month. 

A.  D.  1503.     Pope   Julius 


and  he  derives  the  mistake 
from  the  word  Rouah^  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which,  in  some 
Oriental  tongues,  is  of  the 
feminine  gender,  and  is  fig- 
uratively styled  the  Mother 
of  Christ  in  the  gospel  of  the 
Nazarenes."     Gib.  v.  150. 

The  councils  of  Ephesus 
and  Chalcedon  decreed  that 
the  Virgin  Mary  should  be 
received  and  honored  as  a 
supplement  to  the  Trinity, 
under  the  title  of  Theotokos, 
or  Mother  of  God,  and  she 
sustains  this  supreme  honor 
above  God  to  the  present 
day. 

These  corruptions  of  Chris- 
tian worship  opened  the  way 
for  a  new  religion.  Moham- 
med was  now  very  wealthy 
by  his  marriage  with  the  rich 
widow  Cadijah.  He  studied 
men,  religion,  governments 
and  nature.  The  events 
were  matured  and  the  pro- 
phet was  ready.  The  creed 
was  proclaimed:  "There  is 
but  one  God  and  Mohammed 
is  his  Prophet."  The  voice 
came  from  Arabia. 

THE  BEAST  AND  THE  FALSE 
PROPHET  IN  CONTACT. 

Arabia  is  a  peninsula,  sur- 
rounded   by    Persia,    Syria, 


ROMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      395 


II.  was  a  drunkard,  and  a 
lewd  fellow.  History  speaks 
of  his  daughter  Felice.  Bow- 
ers, iii.  290. 

A.  D.  1513.  Pope  Leo  X. 
was  treacherous,  trifling, 
learned  and  polite.  He  con- 
ferred the  title  of  "Defend- 
er of  the  Faith  "  on  Henry 
VIII.  of  England,  and  op- 
posed the  Keformation. 

A.  D.  1522.  Pope  Hadri- 
an VI.  commenced  his  reign 
by  war ;  opposed  the  Refor- 
mation, yet  he  was  a  good 
man  for  a  pope. 

A.  D.  1523.  Pope  Clem- 
ent VII.  was  an  illegitimate 
child,  but  a  soldier  of  emi- 
nence, yet  unfortunate  in 
war,  and  taken  prisoner.  He 
was  looked  upon  with  con- 
tempt as  a  man  of  no  faith, 
but  refused  to  annul  the 
marriage  of  Henry  VIII. 
from  fear  of  the  emperor. 

A.   D.   1534.     Pope   Paul 

III.  excommunicated  Henry 
VIII.,  exalted  his  natural 
children,  and  sustained  the 
popish  character  of  wicked- 
ness. 

A.  D.  1549.  Pope  Julius 
III.  was  accused  of  sodomy- 
he  was  indolent,  voluptuous, 
infamous  and  debauched. 

A.  D.  1555.     Pope  Marcel- 


Egypt  and  Ethiopia,  and 
forms  a  triangle.  The  ex- 
tent of  territory  is  four  times 
that  of  France,  but  it  is  stony 
and  barren.  On  its  dreary 
wastes,  without  shade  or 
shelter,  the  traveler  is  ex- 
posed, on  barren  mountain 
and  sandy  plain,  to  the  rays 
of  a  troj)ical  sun,  and  the 
southwestern  noxious  and 
deadly  vapor,  while  the  sand 
ofttimes  overwhelms  indi- 
viduals, caravans,  and  even 
armies.  Water  is  scarce, 
and  fire  is  preserved  by  art. 
The  highlands  bordering  on 
the  ocean  are  noted  for  wood 
and  water,  temperate  air, 
delicious  fruits,  i'ertile  soil, 
frankincense,  coffee,  etc., 
which  have  attracted  the 
merchants  of  the  world.  The 
rest  of  the  peninsula  is  call- 
ed sandy  and  stony ;  this 
part  is  termed  happy.  Here 
has  the  best  conjecture  lo- 
cated Eden.  The  inhabit- 
ants, inheriting  the  sword  of 
Ishmael,  have  been  distin- 
guished as  the  unconquered. 
Neither  Alexander  nor  Na- 
poleon could  vanquish  them. 
Grecian  and  Poman  arms 
were  powerless  before  them. 
Shepherds  by  occupation  and 
robbers  by  profession,  they 


396 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


lus  II.  was  a  tolerably  good 
man,  but  soon  died. 

A.  D.  1?55.  Pope  Paul 
IV.  was  proud,  haughty,  and 
hated  by  the  people. 

A.  D.  1560.  Pope  Pius  IV. 
was  a  persecutor. 

A.  D.  15Gfi.  Pope  Pius  V. 
continued  to  burn  heretics. 
He  excommunicated  Queen 
Elizabeth. 

A.  D.  1572.  Pope  Grego- 
ry XIII.  Pacific,  ordered 
the  new  calendar,  A.  D.  1581, 
yet  rejoiced  at  the  massacre 
at  Paris;  created  his  natural 
son  cardinal.  Bowers,  iii.  322. 

A.  D.  1585.     Pope  Sixtus 

VI.  was  exceeding  cruel.  He 
excommunicated,  carried  on 
war;  was  of  great  abilities, 
and  a  great  enemy  to  the 
Jesuits. 

A.  D.  1590.     Pope   Urban 

VII.  and— 

A.  D.  1590.  Pope  Grego- 
ry XIV.  and— 

A.  D.  1591.  Pope  Inno- 
cent IX.  All  died  nearly  as 
fast  as  elected. 

A.  D.  1592.  Pope  Clem- 
ent VIII.  restored  the  Jesuits. 

POPES  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH 
CKNTURY. 

A.  D.  1G05.  Pope  Leo  XI. 
died  within  the  month. 


are  eminently  wild  men ; 
their  hand  against  every 
man,  and  every  man's  hand 
against  them,  yet  they  dwell 
in  tlie  midst  of  their  breth- 
ren. The  horse  is  petted  as 
a  child,  but  the  camel  is  sa- 
cred and  precious.  Mecca 
has  surpassed  the  luster  of 
the  forty-two  cities.  The 
remarkable  circumstances 
related  of  Ishmael,  Gen.  16 
and  21,  were ;  first,  that  he 
should  beget  twelve  princes ; 
and,  second,  become  a  great 
nation  ;  third,  be  a  wild  man  ; 
fourth,  dwell  in  the  wilder- 
ness ;  fifth,  and  be  an  archer  ; 
sixth,  his  hand  should  be 
against  every  man  and  every 
man's  hand  against  him ; 
seventh,  yet  he  would  dwell 
in  the  midst  of  his  brethren. 
Ihese  have  been  wonderful- 
ly verified;  historians  testi- 
fy that, 

1.  "Even  in  our  days 
the  Arabians  have  twelve 
kings." 

2.  "The  Saracens  erected 
one  of  the  largest  empires 
that  ever  was  in  the  world." 

3.  "  That  they  dwell  yet  in 
the  wilderness." 

4.  "  And  are  emphatically 
a  race  of  wild  men." 


ROIUAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


397 


A.  D.  1605.  Pope  Paul  V. 
Under  this  "  vice  God " 
took  place  the  famous  gun- 
powder plot  designed  to  blow 
up  the  English  House  of 
Parliament.  Catholic  du- 
plicity is  seen  in  their  de- 
fense of  the  priest,  Garnet, 
who  confessed,  and  of  course 
absolved  the  murderers  be- 
fore-hand,    lieeves,  580. 

A.  D.  1621.  Pope  Grego- 
ry XV.  canonized  Ignatius, 
the  founder  of  the  Jesuits. 

A.  D.  1623.  Pope  Urban 
VIII.  soon  commenced  war, 
but  was  better  than  the  popes 
in  general. 

A.  D.  1644.  Pope  Inno- 
cent X.  is  famed  for  indo- 
lence and  ignorance. 

A.  D.  1655.  Pope  Alex- 
ander VII.  was  mean,  crafty, 
and  hypocritical. 

A.  D.  1667.  Pope  Clem- 
ent   IX.    was    virtuous. 

A.  D.  1670.     Clement  X. 

A.  D.  1676.  Pope  Inno- 
cent XI.  abolished  some  of 
the  abuses  of  former  popes, 
and  commanded,  on  pain  of 
excommunicatio/i,  women  of 
all  ranks  to  cov>'r  their  bo- 
soms and  arms,  and  prohib- 
ited music  to  females. 

A.  D.  1680.  Pope  Alex- 
ander VIII.  undid  all  that 
the  former  had  done. 


5.  "And  are  the  most  not- 
ed archers." 

6.  "Live  by  prey  and  ra- 
pine, robbers  by  land  and 
pirates  by  sea." 

7.  "  Live  in  tabernacles  or 
tents,  and  lived  in  ancient 
times,  as  now ;"  and  as  Ish- 
mael,  who  died  in  the  "  pres- 
ence of  his  brethren."  Gen. 
25  :  47,  48. 

Gibbon  tries  his  strength 
against  those  gigantic  pillars 
of  the  Christian  temple.  His 
outset  is  so  sanguine,  his 
strength  so  soon  exhausted ; 
his  effort  is  so  futile  and  his 
failure  so  signal ;  his  admis- 
sions are  so  important,  that 
I  present  his  own  language: 

"  The  perpetual  independ- 
ence of  the  Arabs  has  been 
the  theme  of  j^raise  among 
strangers  and  natives,  and 
the  arts  of  controversy  trans- 
form this  singular  event  into 
a  prophecy  and  a  miracle,  in 
favor  of  the  posterity  of  Ish- 
mael.  Some  exceptions,  that 
can  neither  be  dis>-embled 
nor  eluded,  render  this  mode 
of  reasoning  as  indiscreet  as 
it  is  superfluous.  The  king- 
dom of  Yeman  has  been  suc- 
cessively subdued  by  the 
Abyssinians,  Persians,  the 
Sultans  of  Egypt  and  the 
Turks.  The  holy  cities  of 
Mecca  and  Medina  liave  re- 
peatedly bowed  under  the 
Scythian    tyrant;    and    the 


398 


CHURCH     HISTORY. 


A.  D.  1G89.  Pope  Inno- 
cent XIII.  was  a  pretty  good 
man,  but  contended  for  in- 
fallibility. 

POPES    OF    THE    EIGHTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

A.  D.  1700.  Pope  Clem- 
ent XL  A  good  pope  found 
himself  in  a  bad  place. 

A.  D.  1724.  Pope  Bene- 
dict XIII.  had  no  ability. 

A.  D.  1739.  Pope  Clem- 
ent XII.  was  quarrelsome. 

A.  D.  1759.  Pope  Bene- 
dict XIV.  was  so  good  a  man 
that  they  called  him  a  Pro- 
testant. 

A.  D.  1768.  Pope  Clem- 
ent XIII.  was  a  great  hypo- 
crite and  a  curser,  weak  and 
undecided. 

A.  D.  1769.  Pope  Clem- 
ent XIV.  opened  by  dismiss- 
ing the  former  minister,  and 
saying  that  he  would  restore 
Christianity,  and  suppress 
the  Jesuits,  which  united  all 
the  priests  against  him.  He 
died  of  poison  in  a  mass 
wafer. 

A.D.I  775.  Pope  Pius  VI. 
was  a  proud,  gay  gallant, 
who  strutted,  painted  and 
perfumed  his  person.  He 
was  guilty  of  adulter}^,  in- 
cest   and    sodomy;    the  fa- 


Eoman  province  of  Arabia 
embraced  the  peculiar  wil- 
derness in  which  Ishmael 
and  his  sons  must  have 
pitched  their  tents  in  the 
lace  of  their  brethren.  Yet 
these  exceptions  are  tempo- 
rary or  local  ;  the  body  of 
tile  nation  has  escaped  the 
yoke  of  the  most  powerful 
monarchies :  the  arms  of 
Sesostris  and  Cyrus,  of 
Pompey  and  Trajan,  could 
never  achieve  the  conquest 
of  Arabia.  The  present  sov- 
ereign of  the  Turks  may  ex- 
ercise a  shadow  of  jurisdic- 
tion, but  his  pride  is  reduced 
to  solicit  the  friendship  of  a 
people  whom  it  is  dangerous 
to  provoke,  and  fruitless  to 
attack.  The  obvious  causes 
of  their  freedom  are  inscrib- 
ed on  the  character  and  the 
country  of  the  Arabs.  Many 
ages  before  Mohammed, their 
valor  in  offensive  and  defen- 
sive war  had  been  severely 
felt  by  their  neighbors.  The 
care  of  their  sheep  and  cam- 
els is  abandoned  to  the  fe- 
males. The  martial  youth 
is  ever  on  horseback  to  prac» 
tice  the  exercise  of  the  bow, 
javelin  and  scimetar.  The 
long  memory  of  their  inde- 
pendence is  the  firmest 
pledge  of  its  perpetuity ; 
their  domestic  feuds  are  sus- 
pended on  the  approach  of 
a  common  enemy.  And  in 
the  last  hostilities  against 
the  Turks,  the  caravan  of 
Mecca    was    attacked     and 


ROMAN  CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      399 


flier  of  numberless  children. 
lie  oj)posed  the  li})erty  of 
France  in  1791.  In  1796 
Napoleon  took  Rome.  In 
1798  Bert  hier  declared  Rome 
a  republic.  He  said  to  the 
Pope,  '-This  is  the  end  of 
your  temporal  power,"  and 
took  him  prisoner  to  France. 
He  died  a  prisoner,  at 
Valence,   in  1799. 

POPES  OF  THE  XIX.  CENTURY. 

A.  D.  1800.  Pius  VII.  was 
forced  on  Rome  l)y  Austrian 
bayonets.  A.  D.  1801  he 
went  to  France  to  crown 
Napoleon.  Exciting  insur- 
rection on  his  return,  he  was 
arrested  and  brought  to 
France  where  Napoleon  said 
to  him,  ''I  am  the  successor 
of  Charlemagne  from  whom 
you  got  your  territories,  and 
I  revoke  the  grant."  He  re- 
mained a  prisoner  till  the 
fall  of  Napoleon  in  1814, 
when  the  Allied  Powers 
restored  him. 

A.D.  1823.  Pope  Leo  XII. 

A.  D.  1829.  Pope  Pius 
VIII.  was  popular. 

A.  D.  1831.  Pope  Grego- 
ry XVI.  was  a  hater  of  the 
Bible  and  Bible  societies. 

A.  D.  1816.  Pope  Pius  IX. 
made  a  demonstration  in  fa- 
vor of  lil)erty  ;  but  afterward 
opposed  it. 

This  is  the  boasted  "un- 
broken chain  of  popes."  I 
have  presented  the  list  as 
recorded;  and  the  history  as 


pillaged  by  about  eigh- 
ty thousand  confederates 
Their  horses  and  camels,  in 
eight  or  ten  days,  can  ])er- 
form  a  journey  of  four  or 
five  hundred  miles,  disap- 
pear before  a  conqueror, 
whose  troops  are  consumed 
with  thirst,  hunger  and  fa- 
tigue, in  the  pursuit  of  an 
invisible  enemy,  who,  beside 
the  secret  waters  of  the  des- 
ert, scorns  his  eflbrts,  and 
safely  reposes  in  the  heart 
of  a  burning  solitude.  De- 
cline and  Fall,  v.  133. 

Thus  Gibbon  admits  and 
confirms  the  prophecy,  re- 
futes the  spirit  of  his  own 
objections,  and  proves  to 
the  Christian  reader  how  fu- 
tile are  the  efforts  of  infidel- 
ity against  even  the  out- 
works of  truth.  The  Arabs 
defied  the  Egyptians,  resist- 
ed the  Assyrians  and  the 
Persians,  and  were  un con- 
quered by  Alexander,  who 
expired  while  preparing  an 
expedition  against  them. 
His  successors  vainly  at- 
tempted to  subdue  them. 
The  Romans  were  not  able 
to  reduce  them.  They  con- 
tinuall}'"  committed  depreda- 
tions upon  the  Roman  prov- 
inces with  impunity. 

The  Arab  personally  free, 
the  most  worthy  or  the  most 


400 


CHURCH   HISTORY. 


presented  in  standard  Cath- 
olic works,  such  as  Reeves, 
Du  Pin,  etc.  Peter  was  not 
a  pope,  nor  even  bishop  of 
Rome.  There  was  no  pope  in 
the  first  three  centuries. 
When  the  Roman  Church 
was  formed  by  Constantine 
and  others,  the  bishops  of 
Rome  became  tyrants ;  first 
religious,  then  temporal  mon- 
archs,  with  no  settled  mode 
of  succession,  but  the  vicis- 
situdes of  popular  elections, 
the  strength  of  mobs,  the 
favor  of  kings,  and  the  in- 
fluence of  bribery.  There- 
fore the  most  of  them  are 
impostors.  And  the  succes- 
sion is  a  succession  of  im- 
postors and  of  the  promoters 
of  vice.  Portions  of  the 
time  there  have  been  bad 
popes,  bastard  popes,  rival 
popes,  a  few  good  popes,  and 
sometimes  no  pope.  (Reeves, 

65.) 

Sometimes  there  were  two 
and  sometimes  three,  who 
after  anathematizing  each 
other  for  years,  all  were 
declared  anti-popes,  to  give 
place  to  a  iresh  usurper. 
False  or  true,  one  or  three,  an 
Arian  Liberius,  condemning 
Athanasius;  aEiitychian  Vi- 
gilius,  condemning  transub- 
stantiation,  and  "  without  a 


respected  becomes  the  chief 
of  his  kinsmen.  "Even  a  fe- 
male of  sense  and  spirit  has 
commanded  the  countrymen 
of  Zenobia."  This  single 
nation  has  stood  out  against 
the  enmity  of  the  whole 
world  for  near  4,000  years, 
while  the  great  empires 
around  them  have  risen  and 
fallen.  They  are  the  only 
people  beside  the  Jews  who 
have  existed  as  a  distinct 
people  from  the  beginning; 
and  both  boast  of  their  de- 
scent from  Abraham. 

Mohammed's  name  sig- 
nifies praised,  glorious.  His 
followers  are  called  Mussel- 
mans,  which  signifies  to  yield 
up  or  dedicate ;  they  are 
called  by  their  enemies  Sar- 
acens, from  Saral%  to  steal ; 
{hey  adopted  the  crescent 
upon  their  banner,  the  shape 
of  the  moon,  when  the  pro- 
phet fled  to  Medina.  "Mo- 
hammed  was  the  besfe  made 
man  of  all  the  Arabs  of  his 
time,  surpassing  all  his  co- 
temporaries  in  sagacity  and 
good  sense,  so  as  to  acquire 
the  name  of  the  faithful. 
The  grandfather  of  Moham- 
med, and  his  lineal  ances- 
tors, appear  in  foreign  and 
domestic  transactions,  as  the 
princes     of     that     country. 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


401 


shadow  of  title  stealing  in 
like  a  thief;"'  Zosimus  the 
Pelagian,  or  Honorius  the 
Monothelite,  the  links  re- 
main; rusty,  rotten,  or  miss- 
ing ;  and  the  deluded  fanatic 
sees  a  chain  unbroken  in 
the  row  of  names. 

When  Pope  Pius  IX.  as- 
cended the  papal  throne,  his 
liberal  professions  caused 
great  hopes  that  the  days  of 
misrule  were  past.  But  as 
the  principles  of  freedom 
began  to  spread,  he  became 
alarmed;  and  after  vainly 
attempting  to  intercept  their 
onward  progress,  fled  from 
Rome  on  the  24th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1848.  The  people  of 
Rome,  without  seeming  to 
feel  the  loss  of  God's  vice- 
gerent, pushed  on  the  refor- 
mation, and,  on  the  11th  of 
February,  1849,  proclaimed 
a  republic.  They  found,  how- 
ever, that  the  "Holy  Fa- 
ther" was  not  idle.  France 
had  nourished  the  monster 
in  the  incipient  stages  ot  its 
existence,  and  did  not  for- 
sake it  then. 

France,  too,  had  pro- 
claimed a  republic ;  but  too 
much  inclined  to  man  wor- 
ship, she  neglected  her  hon- 
est men  to  promote  the  daz- 
zling man  and  lost  her  lib- 
26 


The  father  of  Mohanmied 
being  devoted  as  a  human 
sacrifice  to  the  gods,  was  re- 
deemed by  an  hundred  cam- 
els. Mohammed  was  not 
born  to  fortune,  but  he  ac- 
quired it  by  marriage,  and 
in  his  wealth  and  family  ties 
were  laid  the  foundation  of. 
his  future  eminence.  How 
different  from  the  Founder 
of  Christianity.  Christ  was 
born  in  poverty,  Mohammed 
in  affluence  ;  Christ  laid  up 
no  treasures  on  earth,  Mo- 
hammed sought  earthly  trea- 
sures ;  Jesus  was  pure,  harm- 
less, sanctified,  he  licentious^ 
impure,  savage ;  Jesus  was- 
meek,  gentle,  merciful,  he 
revengeful,  vindictive,  im- 
petuous; Jesus'  authority 
was  attested  by  open  mira- 
cles and  the  testimony  of 
angels,  his  by  his  own  word 
and  his  good  sword.  On  the- 
death  of  the  prophet's  father 
his  uncle  became  his  devot- 
ed guardian.  But  though 
he  was  not  instructed  in 
reading  or  writing,  he  en- 
gaged on  his  side  the  aff'ec- 
tions  of  his  hearers  by  both 
beauty  of  person  and  digni- 
ty of  appearance.  "  They  ap- 
plauded his  majestic  aspect, 
piercing  eye,  gracious  smile^ 
flowing     beard,    and     com- 


402 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


erty.  Louis  Napoleon  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  re- 
public. In  him  the  pope 
sought  and  found  sympathy. 
Rome  founded  a  liberal  gov- 
ernment. The  "  Holy  Inqui- 
sition "was  closed;  and  a 
column  was  ordered  to  be 
erected  to  commemorate  the 
overthrow  of  one  of  the 
greatest  evils  that  darkened 
the  face  of  the  earth.  The 
following  letter,  dated  April, 
1851,  from  a  correspondent 
of  the  New  York  "Journal 
of  Commerce,"  describes  it 
thus : 

'•'•  Inquisition.  In  Turin  I 
inet  the  American  Consul 
to  Rome,  who  had  passed 
through  the  entire  revolu- 
tion, in  the  Eternal  City ; 
and  who  was  present  when 
the  doors  and  dungeons  of 
the  Inquisition  were  opened 
by  the  decree  of  the  Trium- 
virs ;  its  prisoners  released, 
and  the  building  converted 
into  an  asj^lum  for  the  poor. 
It  was  interesting  to  hear 
Irom  the  lips  of  an  intelli- 
gent eye-witness  the  most 
ample  confirmation  of  the 
published  statements  rela- 
tive to  the  condition  and  ap- 
pearance of  this  iniquitous 
establishment.  The  Holy 
Inquisition  of  Rome  is  situ- 
ated near  the  Pota  Cavalli- 
geri,  and  under  the  very 
shadow  of  the  sublime  dome 


manding  presence."  In  liis 
youth  he  accompanied  the 
caravans  of  his  uncle  to 
Bostra,  Damascus,  and  other 
places,  where  he  could  wit- 
ness the  unsettled  state  of 
the  so-called  Christian  world, 
as  struggling  for  life  in  the 
crushing  coils  of  the  Roman 
serpent.  And  when  he  mar- 
ried the  rich  widow  Cadijah, 
and  at  the  age  of  23,  he  as- 
sumed a  station  among  his 
countrymen  capable  of  sup- 
porting his  future  preten- 
sions. He  did  not  preach 
until  he  was  38,  and  then 
silent  four  years  in  gaining 
proselytes. 

The  Arabs  worshiped  the 
sun,  moon,  and  fixed  stars. 
Human  sacrifices  were  re- 
garded as  most  acceptable 
offerings  to  deprecate  public 
calamities.  A  boy  was  an- 
nually offered  in  sacrifice  by 
the  tribe  of  Dumatians  (Gib. 
Dec.  &  Fall,  v.  142) ;  a  royal 
captive  was  piously  slaugh- 
tered by  the  prince  of  the 
Saracens,  the  ally  and  sol- 
dier of  Justinian  the  Roman 
Emperor,  who  established 
the  Catholic  religion  and 
slaughtered  the  Christians. 
The  Arabs  abstained  from 
swine's    flesh,   and   circurn- 


KOMAN    CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


403 


of  St.  Peter's  Cathedral,  and 
capable,  in  case  of  emergen- 
cy, of  accommodating  three 
thousand  prisoners.  The  Con- 
sul was  particularly  struck 
•with  the  imposing  dimen- 
sions of  the  'Chamber  of 
Archives'  filled  with  vo- 
luminous documents,  records 
and  papers.  Here  were 
piled  all  the  proceedings, 
and  decisions  of  the  '  Hol.y 
Office,'  from  the  very  birth 
of  the  inquisition,  including 
its  correspondence  with  its 
collateral  branches  in  both 
hemispheres.  Upon  the 
third  floor,  over  a  certain 
door,  was  an  inscription, 
'Speak  to  the  first  Inquisit- 
or,' over  another,  'Nobody 
enters  this  chamber,  except 
on  pain  of  excommunica- 
tion.' That  chamber  was 
the  solemn  hall  of  Judg- 
ment, or  Doom  room,  where 
the  fate  of  thousands  has 
been  sealed  in  death.  Over 
a  door  directly  opposite,  was 
the  inscription,  "Speak  to 
the  second  Inquisitor."  Up- 
on opening  the  door  of  that 
apartment,  a  trap  door  was 
exposed,  from  which  the 
condemned,  after  leaving  the 
hall  of  Judgment,  stepped 
into  eternity.  The  well  or 
pit  beneath  the  trap  door 
was  built  in  cylindrical  form, 
ninety  feet  deep,  and  so  in- 
genuously provided  with 
projecting  knives  and  cut- 
lasses, that  the  bodies  of  the 
victims  must  have  been 
dreadfully  mangled  in  the 
descent.     At  the  bottom  of 


cised  their  children  at  the 
age  of  puberty.  They  were 
instructed  in  the  Christian 
religion  by  the  Manicheans 
and  Nestorians,  who  sought 
refuge  among  them  from 
Roman  persecution. 

Mohammed  waited  no  lon- 
ger. At  night,  he  heard  a 
knocking  at  his  door.  He 
opened  it;  the  Angel  Gab- 
riel bid  him  follow  him.  He 
mounted  a  beautiful  white 
beast,  whose  speed  was  as 
lightning;  its  name  Aborak. 
It  had  stood  idle  since  ridden 
by  Christ.  It  had.  carried 
all  the  prophets  in  their 
turn.  At  Jerusalem,  the 
horse  v/as  tied  to  a  rock  by 
Gabriel,  and  both  ascended 
to  the  seven  heavens  on  a 
ladder  of  light  from  the 
midst  of  the  dead  prophets 
and  saints,  who  saluted  him 
and  requested  his  prayers  in 
their  behalf.  The  first  hea- 
ven at  which  they  arrived 
was  opened  by  a  porter,  and 
Mohammed  discovered  it  to 
be  of  pure  silver,  filled  with 
angels  in  the  form  of  birds. 
Here  also  was  Adam,  who 
desired  an  interest  in  his 
prayers.  He  then  again 
commenced  his  next  ascent 
Each  heaven  was  five  hund- 
red days'  journey  above  the 


404 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


this  abyss  were  quantities 
of  hair  and  bones,  also  in 
several  of  the  lower  cham- 
bers were  found  human 
bones.  In  some  places  they 
appeared  to  have  been  mor- 
tared in  the  wall.  The  usu- 
al instruments  of  torture  in 
such  esta);lis]iments  were 
likewise  manifest.  All  the 
hopes  of  the  people  were 
soon  blasted;  soon  the  strong 
argument  for  popery,  which 
had  so  often  confounded  all 
its  adversaries — a  powerful 
French  army — invested  the 
city.  The  resistance  was 
Yaliant,  but  vain.  July  1, 
18-A9,  Rome  again  fell  under 
popery.  Tyranny  and  mis- 
rule were  soon  established. 
The  blood  of  the  best  citizens 
was  poured  out  like  water; 
and  popery  was  itself  again. 
In  May,  1850,  the  "Holy  Fa- 
ther!" was  reinstated  in  the 
Vatican,  all  the  scene  brist- 
ling with  foreign  bayo- 
nets. And  seated  far  above 
all  that  is  called  God  in  the 
Catholic  Church,  he  called 
a  council  to  declare  himself 
infallible.  A.  D.  1861  Cardi- 
nal Vicar  Apostolic  posted 
tlie  following: 

INVITIO    SACRO. 

"In  a  few  days  Rome 
will  receive  within  her  walls 
pastors  coming  from  all  the 
countries  of  the  world,  and 
the  solemn  day  consecrated 
to  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion of  Mary  draws  near-r-a 


other.  The  first,  of  silver, 
in  which  dwelt  Adam;  the 
second  of  gold,  in  which 
dwelt  Noah,  with  double  the 
number  of  angels.  The  third 
was  of  precious  stones.  In 
this  dwelt  Alraham,  the 
number  of  angels  increasing 
in  the  same  ratio  in  every 
successive  heaven.  In  the 
fourth  dwelt  Joseph;  this 
was  of  emerald.  In  the  fifth 
dwelt  Moses;  this  was  of  ad- 
amant. The  sixth  was  of 
carbuncle,  and  here  dwelt 
John  the  Baptist.  The  sev- 
enth was  of  Divine  light, 
and  he  found  Jesus  Christ. 
Each  asked  Mohammed  to 
pray  for  him,  until  he  came 
to  Jesus.  The  prophet,  not 
wishing  to  ofiend  the  Chris- 
tians whom  he  hoped  to 
proselyte,  thought  it  prudent 
to  solicit  the  prayers  of  Jesus, 
instead  of  having  Jesus  so- 
licit his.  Here  Gabriel  left 
him,  to  ascend  to  God,  with 
whom  he  now  talked,  and 
saw  the  words,  "There is  but 
one  God,  and  Mohammed  is 
his  prophet."  He  returned 
as  he  came.  His  story  re- 
ceived no  credit  at  first,  but 
finally,  among  the  faction? 
of  Medina,  some  sought  she! 
ter  under  his  wealthy,  pow 


ROMAN   CIIURCn. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      405 


day  which  will  be  more  mem- 
orable ill  tlie  future,  since  it 
will  witness  the  opening  of 
the  council.  Tlierelbre,  all 
true  sons  of  the  Mother  of 
God  address  themselves  with 
the  greatest  affection  to  her 
whoui  St.  Cyril  called  norma 
rectm  Ji-del^  the  norm  or  rule 
of  ihe  true  faith,  and  they 
address  themselves  to  her, 
in  order  that  ju>t  as  she  was 
personally  at  Jerusalem,  the 
teacher  of  the  apostles  and 
their  companions  in  prayer, 
to  call  down  the  sanctifjnug 
Spirit  from  heaven  upon  the 
council,  so  she  may  preside 
to-day  over  the  new  assem- 
bly gathered  under  her  ma- 
ternal protection,  and  that 
by  her  mediation  she  may 
obtain  all  the  favors  of  which 
God  has  made  her  the  arbi- 
ter and  dispenser.  Hasten 
all  to  the  Triduo  of  the 
church  of  the  reverend  Ca- 
puchin Fathers. 

"  We  also  exhort  you  to 
attend  in  the  same  church 
the  Triduo  of  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth. We  feel  assured,  O 
Romans,  that  you  will  sec- 
ond our  paternal  desire,  and 
that,  prostrate  before  the 
venerated  image  of  Immac- 
ulate Mary,  you  will  invoke 
her  as  your  hope,  and  as  the 
hope  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  Mary  will  once  more 
prove  to  the  enemies  of  the 
truth  how  justly  the  sacred 
liturgy  speaks  thus  other: 
Ganctas  hoereses  sola  intere- 
misti  in  universe  mundoP 


erful,  and  sagacious  wing. 
When  the  populace  becamo 
enraged,  he  fled  to  Medina, 
and  formed  scouting  parties, 
which  he  sent  to  make  repris- 
als, and  thus  commenced  his 
religion. 

Mohammed'' s Testimony  to 
Christ.  "Verily,  Christ  Jesus, 
the  Son  of  Mary,  is  the  Apos- 
tle of  God,  and  his  word 
which  he  conveyed  unto  Ma- 
ry, and  a  spirit  proceeding 
from  him — honorable  in  this 
world  and  the  world  to  come." 
"•  Yet  Jesus  was  a  mere  mor- 
tal, and  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment his  testimony  will  serve 
to  condemn  both  the  Jews, 
who  reject  him  as  a  prophet, 
and  Christians,  who  adore 
him  as  the  Son  of  God."  Para- 
dise, to  Mohammed,  was  a 
place  of  groves,  fountains, 
rivers,  pearls,  diamonds, 
robes  of  silk,  palaces  of 
marble,  dishes  of  gold,  ricli 
wines,  artificial  dainties,  nu- 
merous attendants,  and  sen- 
sual luxuries.  "  Seventy-two 
Houris,  or  black-eyed  girls, 
all  of  resplendent  beauty, 
blooming  youth,  virgin  pur- 
ity, and  exquisite  sensibility, 
will  be  enjoyed  by  the  mean- 
est believers ;  and  a  moment 
of  pleasure  be  increased  to 


406 


CHURCH    HISTORY, 


Thou  alone  hast  destroyed 
all  heresies  in  the  whole 
world. 

A.  D.  1870.  July  21.  In  a 
brief  dispatch,  the  Dogma 
of  ihe  Infallibility  of  the 
Pope  was  proclaimed  at 
Rome  on  Monday  last. 

A  public  session  of  the 
council  commenced  at  9  in 
the  morning,  with  the  cele- 
bration of  mass.  The  Holy 
Father  arrived  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  mass,  when  pray- 
ers were  oifered,  invoking 
the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  Fathers  were  then  called 
upon  for  votes  on  the  en- 
tire schema  of  Primacy  and 
Infallibility,  and  it  was 
adopted  by  the  figures  be- 
fore reported. 

Total  number  of  Catholic 
bishops  in  the  world,  1590. 
Present  non  resident,  499. 
Resident,  1091. 
First  vote  affirmative,  450. 
First  vote  negative,  88. 
Final  vote  affirmative,  538. 
Final  vote  negative,  2. 
Number  not  voting  1050. 

The  Pope  then  appeared 
and  promulgated  the  new 
article  of  faith,  and  the  cer- 
emonies closed  with  a  Tc 
Dcinn,  in  which  all  members 
of  the  council  and  specta- 
tors joined  with  enthusias- 
tic devotion. 


a  thousand  years  of  enjoy- 
ment, and  the  faculties  in- 
creased an  hundred  fold ;  and 
contrary  to  vulgar  tradition 
heaven  is  equally  attainable 
to  both  sexes." 

Mohammed's  first  converts 
were  his  wife,  servant,  pupil 
and  friend.  In  an  assembly 
called  for  the  purpose,  he 
offered  the  treasures  of  this 
world  and  that  to  come  to 
whoever  would  embrace  his 
religion.  "  Who,"  said  he, 
"  will  be  my  companion  and 
vizier?"  For  a  long  time 
none  answered,  when  Ali, 
his  cousin,  exclaimed,  "  O, 
Prophet!  I  am  the  man; 
whosoever  rises  against  thee 
I  will  dash  out  his  teeth, 
tear  out  his  eyes,  break  his 
legs,  rip  up  his  belly.  O, 
Prophet !  I  will  be  thy  vizier 
over  them."  Mohammed 
embraced  him  with  trans- 
port, and  thus  was  displayed 
the  spirit  of  the  Musselmans. 

"  The  sword,"  said  he,  "  is 
the  key  of  heaven  and  hell; 
anight  spent,  a  drop  of  blood 
shed  in  the  service  of  God 
is  of  more  avail  than  two 
months'  fasting  and  prayer." 
He  conquered  the  Koerish, 
and  multitudes  flocked  to  his 
banner.  He  butchered  and 
plundered  the  Jews  of  Ara- 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.      407 


Napoleon,  Emperor  of  the 
French,  kept  an  array  at 
Rome  to  protect  the  impost- 
or; but  Napoleon  having 
declared  war  against  Prus- 
sia he  was  compelled  to 
withdraw  his  troops. 

A.  D.  1870.  September  2. 
Napoleon,  Emperor  of  the 
French  was  defeated  at  Se- 
dan, and  surrendered  him- 
self aiid  an  army  of  120,000 
men  to  King  William  of 
Prussia,  against  whom  he  had 
wantonly  declared  war  six 
weeks  before. 

A.  D.  1870.  September  13. 
The  Italian  army  appeared 
before  Rome.  The  reporter 
says : 

"September  20th  at  five 
o'clock  precisely  we  heard 
the  first  shot.  On  the  Prus- 
sian Minister  entering  the 
Pope's  apartment,  Pius  IX. 
came  forward  and  begged 
that  he  would  go  at  once  to 
General  Cadorna  and  ask 
him  to  send  him  some  troops 
to  re-establish  order.  The 
soldiers  had  fired  on  the  pop- 
ulace, and  things  were  look- 
ing very  awkward. 

"At  nine  o'clock  a  bomb- 
shell fell  on  the  roof  of  St. 
Agnes  Church.  It  smashed 
the  ceiling  and  fell  into  the 
church.  An  order  was  im- 
mediately given  to  several 
soldiers  to  mount  to  the  top 
of  the  tower  and  hoist  the 


bia,  and  Catholics  were  sat- 
isfied ;  subdued  Mecca,  con- 
quered Arabia,  measured 
arms  with  the  Romans,  and 
died  at  the  age  of  63,  exclaim- 
ing, in  broken  accents,  "  O, 
God — pardon  my  sins — yes 
— I  come — among  my  fellow- 
citizens  on  high,"  and  thus 
expired  on  a  carpet  on  the 
floor.  The  army,  about  to 
march  for  the  conquest  of 
Syria,  halted  at  the  gates  of 
Medina;  the  chiefs  assem- 
bled around  the  dying  pro- 
phet. "  How  can  he  be  dead 
— our  witness,  our  interces- 
sor, our  mediator  with  God? 
By  God!  he  is  not  dead!" 
And  Omar,  unsheathing  his 
sword,  offered  to  strike  off 
the  head  of  the  infidel  who 
should  say  Mohammed  was 
dead.  But  the  prophet  was 
buried — not  suspended  in 
the  air  at  Mecca— but  bur- 
ied at  Medina. 

Mohammed  despised  pomp. 
He  with  his  own  hands  kin- 
dled the  fire,  swept  the  floor, 
milked,  and  mended  his  own 
shoes  and  garments.  He  in- 
terdicted wine; but  gratified 
his  appetite  for  perfumes 
and  women.  And  his  re- 
ligion allows  four  wives ; 
but    some    special    revela- 


408 


CHURCU   HISTORY. 


white  flag  of  the  Geneva 
Convention.  The  fire  had 
ceased  and  the  Zouaves  had 
hoisted  tlie  white  flag.  A  bat- 
talion of  hersaglieri  mount- 
ed the  barricade,\vhen  those 
villains  of  Zouaves  fired 
again,  killing  on  the  spot 
SignorPateliere,  Major  of  the 
battalion.  General  Caseny, 
with  his  wounded  arm  and 
his  stafl",  marched  in  front, 
sword  in  hand,  to  the  barri- 
cade. The  first  officer  who 
advanced  was  Signor  Valn- 
ziani,  who  was  exiled  from 
Rome  eleven  years  ago,  and 
was  now  all  too  happy  to 
see  his  native  country  again. 
Just  as  he  reached  the  top 
of  the  barricade  he  fell 
dead,  struck  by  a  bullet  in 
the  forehead.  Tiie  soldiers 
mount  the  barricades  with 
jolly  laces.  The  Colonel  of 
the  regiment  rides  to  the 
■very  top  of  the  barricade. 
He  lias  his  cigar  in  his  mouth, 
looks  proudly  on  his  soldiers, 
and  little  cares  for  the  bul- 
lets whistling  about  his  face. 
The  troops  have  occupied 
the  gates,  the  Papal  artille- 
ry is  surrendered,  and  the 
fire  has  ceased. 

"  The  Piazzi  del  Terunni 
was  full  of  Papal  artillery — 
a  regiment  of  Zouaves  and  a 
squadron  of  cavalry.  Piazzi 
de  Monte  Carallo  was  also 
occupied  by  Papal  artillery. 
All  were  disarmed  by  the 
Forty -first.  The  people  be- 
gan to  pour  in  from  every 
quarter,  with   tricolor  flags 


tions  granted  him  greater 
latitude,  and  the  female  sex, 
without  reserve,  was  aban- 
doned to  his  desires.  He  es- 
poused, however,  but  seven- 
teen wives  (Gib.v.  185);  elev- 
en enjoyed  in  turn  his  con- 
jugal society.  All  his  wives 
were  widows  before  he  mar- 
ried them  except  Ayesha, 
whom  he  espoused  at  the 
age  of  nine  years.  His 
amours  with  Zeineb,  the 
wife  of  Zeid,  and  Mary,  iu- 
jiwed  his  reputation ;  but 
the  Angel  Gabriel  descend- 
ed to  ratify  the  deed,  and 
assure  the  prophet  of  God's 
indulgence.  On  the  death 
of  Cadijah,  he  ranked  her 
with  the  sister  of  Moses  and 
Mary.  "  Was  she  not  old  ?" 
exclaimed  the  youthful  Ay- 
esha. -'Has  not  God  given 
you  a  better  ?"  "No,  by  God," 
said  Mohammed, "  there  nev- 
er can  be  a  better." 

Conquests.  On  the  death 
of  the  prophet  the  Arabs 
prepared  to  conquer  the 
world.  They  attacked  at  the 
same  time  the  Romans  and 
the  Persians,  and  in  ten 
years  reduced  to  obedience 
"thirty-six  thousand  cities 
destroyed  four  thousand 
churches,  and  erected  four 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH. 


409 


in  their  hands,  slioutinjj;  like 
mad  lor  the  King  and  the 
army.  The  squadrughirij 
composed  of  persons  sen- 
tenced to  the  galleys  or  im- 
prisonment lor  criminal  of- 
fenses, but  released  to  form 
a  military  body  solely  de- 
pendent on  the  Church  of 
Rome,  were  expected  to 
make  mischief,  but  were 
surprised  and  made  prison- 
ers. 

"  The  General  command- 
ing one  of  the  brigades  was 
soon  surrounded  by  the  peo- 
ple, who  kissed  his  hands 
and  even  the  legs  of  his 
horse,  and  cried,  'Long  live 
our  liberators!'  The  Italian 
flng  was  soon  hoisted  on  the 
capital,  the  bells  were  peel- 
ed, the  military  band  played 
the  Koyal  March,  and  thou- 
sands of  voices  cried,  'Long 
live  Victor  Emmanuel!' 
Old  men  and  women  are 
seen  embracing  the  soldiers, 
holding  them  tight  by  the 
waist,  and  crying  out,  'Don't 
leave  us  any  more  in  the 
hands  of  that  brute,  the 
Pope,  his  priests  and  his 
brigands!'  The  long  and 
line  street  of  the  Corso  looks 
like  a  fairy  scene,  with  its 
thousands  of  colored  lamps 
and  its  windows  covered 
with  flags." 

Home,  September  22.  The 
following  proclamation  is 
posted  in  every  quarter  of 
the  city : 

"  Romans — The   goodness 


teen  hundred  mosques  ;  and 
in  one  hundred  years  from 
the  flight,  their  arms  extend- 
ed over  Persia,  Syria,  Egypt, 
Africa  and  Spain."  These 
conquests  will  only  so  far 
occupy  our  attention  as  con- 
nected with  the  great  apos- 
tacy,  and  resulting  in  the 
crusades. 

The  revelator,  in  speaking 
of  their  depredations,  says 
that  "it  was  commanded 
them  that  they  should  not 
hurt  the  grass  of  the  earth, 
nor  any  green  thing,  neither 
any  tree."  Rev.  9  :  4. 

A.  D.  632.  The  infidel 
historian  says  the  Arab 
chief  bade  his  men  to  "  de- 
stroy no  palm  trees,  nor 
burn  any  fields  of  corn,  cut 
down  no  fruit  trees,  nor  do 
any  mischief  to  cattle."  Gib. 
V.  215. 

The  revelator  said  that 
they  were  commanded  to 
hurt  "only  those  men  which 
have  not  the  seal  of  God  in 
their  foreheads."  Rev.  9  :  4. 
The  historian  says  that  they 
were  thus  instructed:  "As 
you  go  you  will  find  some 
religious  persons  who  live 
retired  in  monasteries,  and 
propose  to  serve  God  that 
way :   let   them   alone,    and 


410 


CHURCH    HISTORY. 


of  our  right  and  the  valor 
of  our  arms  have  in  a  few 
hours  brought  me  among 
you  to  restore  to  you  liberty. 
Now  your  destinies  and 
those  of  the  nation  lie  in 
your  own  hands.  Strong  by 
your  sufferings,  Italy  will  at 
least  have  the  glory  of  solv- 
ing that  great  problem 
which  so  terribly  has  been  a 
burden  to  modern  society. 
Thauks  to  the  Ilomans,  also, 
in  the  name  of  the  army, 
for  the  heartfelt  reception 
you  give  to  us.  Continue 
to  preserve,  as  you  did  to  this 
day,  the  public  order,  be- 
cause without  it  there  is  no 
liberty  possible.  Romans, 
the  morning  of  the  20th  of 
September,  1870,  marks  a 
memorable  epoch  in  the  his- 
tory of  Rome.  It  has  again 
returned,  to  be  forever  the 
great  capital  of  a  great  na- 
tion. Long  live  the  King. 
Long  live  Italy." 

''The  losses  of  the  army 
are  about  two  hundred  dead 
and  wounded. 

"The  Pope  desiring  to 
drive  through  the  city,  Gen- 
eral Cadorna  gave  orders 
that  the  same  honors  be 
paid  him  as  to  a  king,  and 
to  the  cardinals  as  to  princes 
of  the  royal  blood." 

A.  D.  1870.  June  18.  Na- 
poleon declared  war.  Sep- 
tember 2.  Napoleon  was 
made  prisoner.  September 
20.  Rome  was  taken  by  the 


neither  kill  them  nor  destroy 
their  monasteries.  And  you 
will  find  another  sort  of  peo- 
ple that  belong  to  the  Syn- 
agogue of  Satan,  who  have 
shaven  crowns:  be  sure  you 
cleave  their  skulls,"  etc. 
Gib.    V.    215. 

CONFESSION  OF  ISLAMISM. 

"  I  deny  him  that  was  cru- 
cified, and  whoever  worships 
him.  And  I  choose  God  for 
my  Lord,  Islam  for  my  faith, 
Mecca  for  my  temple,  the 
Moslems  for  my  brethren,  and 
Mohammed  for  my  prophet, 
who  was  sent  to  lead  us  in 
the  right  way,  and  to  exalt 
the  true  religion  in  spite  of 
those  who  join  partners  with 
God." 

Fall  of  Damascus.  Four 
days' journey  brought  tliem 
to  Damascus.  Challenges 
were  given  by  the  chiefs, 
and  many  fell  in  single  com- 
bat. Caled,  an  Arab,  after 
a  severe  contest,  overthrew 
his  antagonist  and  made  him 
prisoner,  and  was  advancing 
to  meet  a  second  in  single 
combat.  "  Repose  yourself 
a  moment,"  said  Derar/'  and 
permit  me  to  supply  your 
place  ;  you  are  fatigue  I  with 


ROMAN   CHURCH. 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.      411 


Italians ;    and  the  Prussian 
army  marched  on  Paris. 

A.  D.  1870.  October  27. 
King  William  of  Prussia  tel- 
egraphs the  Queen : 

"  This  mornig  Bazaine  and 
Metz  capitulated.  One  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  pris- 
oners, including  twenty 
thousand  sick  and  wounded, 
army  and  garrison,  laid  down 
their  arms  this  afternoon. 
One  of  the  most  imj)ortant 
events  of  the  war.  Provi- 
dence be  thanked. 

"William." 

London,  October  28.  "The 
whole  number  of  prisoners 
is  now  reported  at  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-three  thou- 
sand, including  three  mar- 
shals and  six  thousand  of- 
ficers." 

A.  D.  1870.  October  27. 
Paris  is  surrounded ;  the 
Grand  Army  of  France  is  de- 
stroyed. Over  300,000  have 
been  taken  prisoners,  and 
Juan,  the  son  of  Victor  Em- 
manuel, King  of  Italy,  is  in- 
vited to  become  King  of 
Spain. 

A.  D.  1870.  It  is  now  1115 
years  since  the  first  pope- 
king,  and  now  tlie  present 
pope  has  ceased  to  be  king. 

THE  HERETICAL  POPES. 

All  the  popes,  pagans  ex- 


fighting  that  Christian  dog." 
"We  shall  have  rest  in  the 
world  to  come,"  he  replied, 
and  encountered  and  van- 
quished a  second  champion, 
and  the  heads  of  the  two  pa- 
pists were  indignantly  hurled 
back  into  the  city. 

Seventy  thousand  Romans 
sent  for  the  relief  of  the  city 
were  met  and  conquered  by 
Derar,  with  forty-five  thou- 
sand Moors  ;  after  which  Da- 
mascus was  again  invested, 
and,  after  a  siege  of  seventy 
days,  submitted  to  the  rules 
of  the  false  prophet.  Abyla 
next  fell ;  Heliopolis  and 
Emesa  were  overwhelmed. 
Under  the  walls  of  the  latter 
city  a  young  Arab  exclaim- 
ed, in  the  heart  of  the  battle, 
"Methinks  I  see  the  black- 
eyed  girls  looking  upon  me, 
one  of  whom,  should  she  ap- 
pear in  this  world,  all  man- 
kind would  die  of  love  of 
her.  I  see  in  the  hand  of 
one  of  them  a  handkerchief 
of  green  silk,  and  a  cap  of 
precious  stones,  and  she 
beckons  me  and  calls  out, 
Come  hither  quickly,  for  I 
love  thee."  After  this  ex- 
hortation he  charged  furious- 
ly, and  fell,  struck  through 
with  a  javelin.     A.  D.  633. 


412 


CllUIlCn    HISTORY. 


cepted,  have  helonged  to 
the  Catholic  heresy. 

A.  D.  337.  Pope  Julius  was 
the  first  pope  chosen  over 
the  Catholic  Church. 

A.  D.  352.  Pope  Liberius 
who  siiriied  the  Ariaii  Creed 
was  the  second.     Mil.  ii.  9-i. 

A.  D.  417.  Pope  Zozimus, 
the  Pelagian  heretic,  was 
the  forty-second.  Bowers, 
i.  152. 

A.  D.  548.  Pope  Vigilius, 
the  Eutychian  heretic,  who 
"stole  into  the  chair  like  a 
thief,"  was  the  sixtieth. 
Reeves,  p.  180. 

A.  D.  590.  Pope  Gregory 
the  Great  was  the  sixty- 
fifth  pope.  He  wrote  against 
the  title  of  universal  bishop 
or  pope.    Bowers,  i.  189. 

A.  D.  625.  Pope  Honori- 
us,  the  "Monothelite  here- 
tic," was  the  seventy-first. 
Bowers,  i.  434.  Reeves,  p. 
207. 

A.  D.  755.  Pope  Stephen 
III.  received  of  King  Pepin 
territory  for  a  kingdom,  and 
was  the  first  king-pope. 
Reeves,  p.*  224. 

A.  D.  905.  Pope  Sergius 
III.  was  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty-second.  The  popes 
for  most  of  the  tenth  centu- 
ry were  the    creatures    and 


A.  D.  637.  The  army  of 
the  false  prophet  advanced 
upon  Jerusalem,  and  another 
mosque  was  there  erected. 
They  then  advanced  upon 
Aleppo  and  Antioch,  taking 
Cesarea,  and  making  a  full 
conquest  of  Syria  and  Egypt. 

On  the  western  side  of 
the  Nile,  east  of  the  pyra- 
mids and  south  of  Delta, 
Memphis,  fifty  miles  in  cir- 
cumference, stood  as  a  mon- 
ument of  Egypt's  ancient 
greatness  ;  but  the  ancient 
capital  was  eclipsed  b}""  the 
rising  grandeur  of  Alexan- 
dria. This  now  fell  betore  the 
conquering  legions  of  the 
prophet,  as  his  troops  poured 
forth  from  the  conquests  of 
Syria  to  those  of  Egypt. 
The  Jacobites  received  the 
Saracens  as  their  deliverers, 
seeking  refuge  from  the  ra- 
pacity of  the  beast  under 
the  banner  of  the  false  pro- 
phet. To  their  Chief  Mow- 
kawkas  the  Arab  Amron 
proposed  the  usual  option, 
the  Koran,  or  tribute  of 
sword.  ''  For  myself  and  my 
brethren,"  replied  the  Ja- 
cobite chief,  "we  are  resolv- 
ed to  live  and  die  in  the  pro- 
fession of  the  gospel  and 
unity  of  Christ.      It  is   im- 


KOMAN   CIIURCn. 


CHRISTIAN   CIIURCir.       413 


sons  of  prostitutes ;  and  the 
sons  of  poj)es  by  prostitutes. 
"I  should  not  be  surprised 
if  these  bad  popes  were 
at  this  moment  expiating 
their  crimes  in  the  penal 
fires  of  hell."  Bishop  Pur- 
cell,  of  Cincinnati,  Debate 
with  Campbell,  p.  145. 

October  28,  A.  D.  1870. 
The  present  pope,  Pius  IX., 
is  a  Marionite  idolater,  and 
worships  Mary  as  the  Moth- 
er of  God. 

CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLE. 

A.  D.,  1870,  July  15,  Na- 
poleon III.,  "Eldest  Son  of 
the  Church"  (see  p.  31),  made 
war  on  Prussia,  the  only 
great  Protestant  State  on 
the  continent. 

July  21,  Rome  proclaimed 
Papal  ini'allibility,  thus  ma- 
kino;  a  man  a  god. 

September  3,  "The  Eldest 
Son  of  the  Church"  surren- 
ders with  his  immense  army 
to  the  King  of  Prussia. 

September  20,  Rome  is 
occupied  by  King  Victor 
Emmanuel,  whom  the  Pope 
had  most  wickedly  excom- 
municated. 

October  2.  50,000  Romans 
vote  against  the  Pope  as 
their  king,  and  50  for  liim, 
preferring  the  excommuni- 
cated Victor  Emmanuel  for 
their  king. 


possible  for  us  to  embrace 
the  revelations  of  your  pro- 
phet; but  we  are  desirous 
of  peace,  and  cheerfully 
submit  to  pay  tribute  and 
obedience  to  his  temporal 
successors."  Two  pieces  of 
gold  were  required  for  every 
Christian  capable  of  bearing 
arms  ;  but  old  men,  women, 
children  under  sixteen,  and 
ministers  of  the  gospel,  were 
free.  Alexandria  fell,  after 
a  siege  of  fourteen  months 
and  a  loss  of  twenty-three 
thousand  Turks.  The  Arab 
chief,  Amron,  was  pleased 
with  the  conversation  of  the 
Christian  ministers,  and  one 
solicited  the  inestimable  gift 
of  that  which  to  the  con- 
queror was  most  contempti- 
ble, the  great  library.  Am- 
ron would  gratify  him,  but 
not  without  the  consent  of 
his  chief  The  caliph  replied, 
"  If  these  writings  agree  with 
the  book  of  God,  they  are 
useless  and  need  not  be  pre- 
served ;  if  they  disagree  they 
are  pernicious  and  ought  to 
be  destroyed."  Pour  thou- 
sand baths  of  the  city  receiv- 
ed the  volumes  of  precious 
truth  now  lost  to  the  world, 
and  six  months  were  they 
thus  supplied  with  fuel. 


414  CHURCU    HISTORY. 

A.  D.  755.  Pepin,  King  of  Paris,  set  Pope  Stephen  IL 
up  as  king.  Septen)ber  20, 1S70,  Pope  Pius  IX.  came  down 
again.  The  '•'Cincinnati  Commercial"  of  September  28, 
1870,  quotes  European  papers,  saying  that  the  Italian 
troops  were  hailed  as  deliverers  by  the  Koman  people,  as 
follows: 

"  Long  live  our  liberators  !  Long  live  Victor  Emmanuel !" 
Old  men  and  women,  embracing  the  soldiers,  cried,  ^' Don't 
leave  us  any  more  in  the  hands  of  that  bruie,  the  pope,  his 
priests  and  his  brigands." 

During  the  five  hundred  years  from  the  origin  of  the 
Roman  Chuich  in  329,  to  A.  D.  755,  the  Catholic  Church 
had  so  far  demoralized  religion  as  to  render  righteousness 
contemptible.  The  people  who  studied  chiefly  to  be  good 
were  considered  simple  and  unwise  in  theology.  When 
they  added  to  piety  a  regard  for  the  Scriptures,  and  a  cor- 
responding disregard  for  "  the  doctrines  and  commandments 
of  men,"  they  were  denounced  by  the  government  priests 
and  political  proselytes  as  Arians,  Paulicians,  Manicheans, 
and  heretics.  The  chief  virtue  in  religion  was  to  accept 
enthusiastically  the  party  creed  and  clamor  vigorously 
for  favorite  men  and  measures.  Popular  laymen,  even 
non-professors.  Deists  and  Pagans,  were  chosen  priests  and 
Lishops,  in  order  to  strengthen  by  political  alliances  the 
ruling  party.  To  be  a  sinner,  a  gross  sensualist,  drunkard, 
glutton,  or  debauchee,  subjected  one  to  no  censure  of  the 
church ;  but  to  differ  one  hair's  breadth  from  the  received 
opinion,  subjected  one  to  the  loss  of  every  right  of  citizen- 
ship and  humanity.  Let  there  be  two  men,  Christian  Evan- 
gelist, and  Koman  Catholic.  Roman  Catholic  rejects 
every  moral  virtue  and  cultivates  every  vice;  yet,  if 
he  curses  in  favor  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  in  his  de- 
bauches does  not  deny  that  religion;  if  he  anathematizes 
heretics,  and  is  willing  to  exterminate  Arians,  abuse 
their  persons  and  seize  their  property,  he  may  live 
respected  as  a  good  Catholic,  die  in  peace,  and,  per- 
haps, be  canonized  as  a   saint.     Christian,  on   the   other 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  415 

hand,  cultivates  piety,  practices  prayer  and  f^ood  works, 
reads  his  Bible,  and  has  charity  lor  those  who  do  not  curse 
heretics;  and  more,  perhaps  fails  to  see  perfection  in  the 
dominant  creed.  Christian  will  be  hated,  persecuted, 
stripped  of  his  property,  thrust  into  the  inquisition, 
anathematized,  tortured,  and  burned  to  ashes.  No  crimes, 
not  even  murder,  arson,  and  treason,  crowning  a  wicked 
life,  called  for  death  without  pity,  except  the  imaginary 
heresy  of  denying  the  popular  creed.  The  emissaries  of 
Satan,  however  wicked,  were  objects  of  mercy.  The 
faintest  deviation  of  thought  in  the  good  man  deprived 
him  of  safety,  pardon,  or  pity. 

The  Roman  Church  had  totally  apostatized.     It  had  : 

I.  Reversed  the  First  Conunandment.  ''Thou  shalt 
have  no  other  gods  before  ME,"  by  Tritheism.  It  de- 
nied Christ.  For  to  say  that  there  is  no  Christ  but  God, 
that  God  is  the  only  Savior,  is  simply  deism,  and  a  virtual 
denial  of  the  Son. 

II.  It  reversed  the  Second  Commandment  by  worship- 
ing graven  images ;  especially  in  representing  two  per- 
sons; of  what  it  called  the  God  ;  of  whom  no  image  was 
made ;  in  the  image  of  a  man  and  a  dove. 

III.  It  reversed  the  Third  Commandment,  not  only  by 
profane  swearing,  but  by  absolving  whole  nations  from 
their  oaths. 

IV.  It  reversed  the  Fourth  Commandment  by  doing 
away  with  the  Sabbath  of  God's  word,  and  instituting  Sun- 
day as  a  holiday. 

V.  It  reversed  the  Fifth  Commandment  by  encourag- 
ing children  to  rebel  against,  and  murder  their  parents, 
wlien  not  Catholics. 

VI.  It  reversed  the  Sixth  Commandment  by  instituting 
the  wholesale  slaughter  and  inhuman  butchery  of  all  dis- 
senters. 

VII      It   promoted    adultery  by  "commanding    not    to 
raarry,"  and  practicing  concubinage  and  fornication. 

VIII.     It   reversed    the    Eighth  Commandment  by  seiz 
ing  the  churches  of  dissenters. 


416  cuuRCii  iiisTouy. 

IX.  It  violated  the  Ninth  Commandment  by  bearing 
false  witness  in  all  of  its  records  of  history  concerning  the 
faith  of  dissenters. 

X.  It  reversed  the  Tenth  Commandment  by  availing 
itself  of  the  property  and  persons  of  others  to  enrich  its 
treasure,  or  gratify  its  lusts. 

XI.  It  annihilated  the  ordinances  by  reducing  baptism 
to  christening,  and  the  supper  to  a  wafer. 

XII.  It  excluded  the  teachings  of  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles and  prophets,  by  supplanting  the  Bible  with  human 
traditions,  and  tilling  the  churches  with  pagan  robes  and 
rituals. 

XIII.  It  excluded  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  by  "baptiz- 
ing "  the  whole  population  into  the  church,  and  teaching 
their  salvation  without  the  new  birth  or  piety.  Its  divis- 
ions of  the  Godhead,  its  worship  of  saints  and  images,  its 
ostracism  of  the  known  language  in  its  service,  its  jug 
glery  in  pretending  to  make  a  wafer  creature  God;  its  wor- 
ship of  this  creature  ;  its  granting  indulgence  to  all  who  cut 
the  throats  of  Christians,  "heretics;"  and  of  Mohammed 
ans,  can  never  be  defended,  and  leaves  that  corporation 
with  as  little  title  to  the  claim  of  the  true  church  as  any 
other  human  conspiracy  or  combination  to  overthrow  the 
true  faith.     See  the  close  of  Roman  History,  p.  404. 

XIV.  The  object  of  a  society  is  seen  in  its  terms  of 
membership.  This  society  neither  requires  conversion  for 
membership,  nor  excludes  for  sin.  It  admits  unconverted 
nations,  and  excommunicates  only  those  who  oppose  its  do- 
minion. 

XV.  It,  with  all  large  societies,  embraces  many  pious  peo- 
ple :  but  as  these  are  in  it  incidentally,  while  the  masses 
are  wicked,  of  the  same  relative  character  of  wicked  na- 
tions; these  can  not  constitute  it  a  church;  or  even  a  re- 
ligious society. 

XVI.  The  Roman  Church  is  a  spiritual  empire,  a  political 
despotism,  an  image  of  the  old  Pagan  empire,  having  the 
common  desire  of  all  men  to  reform  the  people,  but  by  its 
system  of  traffic  in  religion,  corrupting  the  morals,  under- 
mining the  power,  eating  out  the  substance,  and  destroy- 
ing the  liberty  of  the  people. 


TUE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  41"? 


MOHAMMEDANISM  ESTABLISHED. 

"  And  when  they  had  opened  the  third  seal,  I  heard  the  third  heast  say,  Come  and  see. 
And  I  beheld,  and  lo,  a  black  liorse  ;  and  he  that  sat  on  him  had  a  pair  of  balances  in  his 
hand.  And  I  heard  a  voice  in  the  niids .  of  the  four  beasts  say,  A  measure  of  wheat  for  a 
penny,  and  three  measures  of  barley  for  a  penny  ;  and  see  thou  hurt  not  the  oil  and  the 
wine."    Rev.  6:  5,  6. 

"Two  epistles  of  Gregory  VII.  have  the  double  object 
of  soothing  the  Catholics  and  courting  the  Moors.  The 
pope  assures  the  sultan  that  they  both  worship  the  same 
God,  and  may  hope  to  meet  in  Abraham's  bosom."  Bui 
the  flattery  was  inadequate  to  the  revival  of  the  Tlomish 
religion,  which  sank  irrecoverably.  The  Catholics  of 
Spain  were  more  than  half  Musselmans.  They  abstained 
from  wine  and  pork,  and  practiced  circumcision.  The  pope 
would  have  adopted  Mohammed's  religion  if  Mohamme- 
dans would  have  bowed  to  the  pope. 

It  was  the  amusement  of  the  Saracens  to  profane  as 
well  as  pillage.  "At  the  siege  of  Salermo,  a  chief,  spread- 
ing his  couch  on  the  communion  table,  sacrificed  each 
night  on  that  altar  the  virginity  of  a  Christian  nun.  In 
the  midst  of  his  voluptuous  intercourse,  a  beam  from  the 
roof  slew  the  emir,  and  convinced  the  Romans  of  a  miracle." 
See  Baronius  Ec,  A.  D.  874,  No.  2. 

Arabs  at  Constantinople.  A.  D.  668.  Only  forty-six 
years  after  the  flight,  the  disciples  of  the  false  prophet 
appeared  before  the  gates  of  Constantinople,  the  capital 
of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  the  bulwark  of  the  Eastern 
Church.  But  the  besiegers  had  neither  properly  estimated 
the  strength  of  the  capital  nor  the  resources  of  the  citizens, 
and,  after  an  inefl'ectual  siege  of  six  months,  they  retired. 
For  six  years  they  renewed  their  attacks,  until  the  last  ex- 
piring ray  of  hope  disappeared,  and  the  last  efl"ort  of 
patience  was  exhausted.  They  then  retreated  with  a  loss 
of  over  thirty  thousand  Musselmans.  In  716  another  at- 
tempt was  made  upon  the  capital,  with  like  success.  Upon 
the  first  news  of  their  approach  the  granaries  and  stores 
were  replenished,  and  all  persons  not  provided  for  a  three 
years'  siege  were  expelled  from  the  city.  The  attack  was 
conducted  with  valor  and  enterprise.     Eighteen  hundred- 


418  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

vessels  conveyed  them  to  the  shore.  One  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  Arabs  followed  the  caliph's  brother.  The 
false  prophet  threatened  the  destruction  of  the  beast.  But 
the  fire-ships  of  the  Greeks  were  launched  agaii\st  the 
vessels  of  the  Turks,  and  they  were  all  involved  in  irre- 
trievable ruin.  The  land  forces  continued  the  siege.  Two 
numerous  fleets  revived  their  resources,  but  the  fire  ships 
of  the  Greeks  were  still  destructive.  Famine  finally  pre- 
vailing, produced  pestilence,  and  pestilence  despair.  After 
a  siege  of  thirteen  months  the  gathering  forces  of  Europe 
caused  a  hasty  retreat. 

The  success  of  the  Mohammedanism  was  in  the  apos- 
tasy, oppression,  and  sectarianism  of  the  Koman  Church. 
Though  the  Christians  were  confounded  with  and  con- 
demned as  Arians,  their  persecutors  could  not  agree  as  to 
which  of  their  various  heresies  should  be  the  one  Catholic 
Ohurch  ;  and  the  sectaries  who  joined  in  oppressing  the 
Christians  were  in  turn  oppressed.  The  Monophysites,  or 
Jacobites  of  Egypt,  when  they  could  not  rule,  desired  no 
part  in  Popery,  but  sought  shelter  under  Mohammed.  The 
Nestorians  of  Syria  preferred  the  iron  scepter  of  the  pro- 
phet to  the  deceptive  coils  of  the  beast;  and  multitudes 
of  other  sectaries  sought  peace  and  security  from  Popish 
cruelty  under  an  infidel  power. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  tenth  century.  Pope  Sylvester 
II.  sounded  the  tocsin  of  war,  issuing  a  circular  letter  in 
the  name  of  the  Church  of  Jerusalem,  exhorting  the 
powers  of  Europe  to  unsheathe  the  sword  against  the 
false  prophet. 

A.  D.  716.  Rathbod,  King  of  the  Prisons,  was  entering 
the  font,  when  he  asked  the  Catholic  priest  whether  the 
ancient  kings  of  his  nation  were  in  the  paradise  they  pro- 
mised him,  or  in  the  hell  which  was  threatened?  ''Be  not 
deceived,"  said  St.  Vulfran,  "they  died  without  baptism, 
and  are  damned;  but  he  that  believeth  and  is  baptized 
shall  be  happy  with  Christ."  Rathbod  withdrew  his  foot, 
Baying  he  preferred  the  society  of  his  princely  ancestors 
to  that  of  thfe  beggars  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  419 

A.  D.  721.  A  council  at  Rome  forbade  godfathers  and 
godmothers  to  marry  one  another. 

A.  D.  726.  The  Emperor  Leo  imbibed  a  great  horror 
of  image  worship  ;  and  Pope  Gregory  II.  caused  a  rebellion 
against  him,  and  the  tribute  of  the  Italians  to  be  with- 
drawn. 

A.  D.  731.  The  Arabs  invaded  France;  but  although 
for  a  while  successful,  yet  Charles  Martel  attacked  them 
near  Tours,  and  after  six  days  of  martial  combat,  the 
seventh  saw  the  defeat  of  the  Arabs ;  and  the  monks 
averred  that  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand 
Saracens  had  been  crushed  by  the  hammer  of  diaries. 
This  was  the  first  great  check  given  to  Mohammedan  arms 
in  the  eighth  century. 

*A.  D.  787.  The  Second  Nicene— Seventh  General — 
Council  was  held.  Jortin  says :  "  It  is  well  if  there  was 
one  amongst  them  who  could  write  his  own  name."   iii.  78. 

A.  D.  788.  A  council  in  England  forbid  docking  horses' 
tails  or  ears. 

A.  D.  789.  The  Polish  bishops  made  a  law,  that  "  he 
who  ate  flesh  during  lent  should  have  his  teeth  pulled  out.'* 

Reeves  says,  that  "many  Christians  were  found  in  Ba- 
varia, but  they  seemed  little  better  than  the  heathens." 
p.  219.  This  is  because  they  were  not  Catholics.  Indeed, 
we  are  not  to  suppose  the  common  people  yet  Catholics 
anywhere.  The  Roman  Church  existed  as  a  hierarchy,  a 
religious  aristocracy  of  bishops,  priests,  monks,  nuns,  etc. 
The  masses  of  the  people,  as  far  as  they  were  religious, 
were  Christian.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  all  were  Cath- 
olics who  attended  the  Roman  Church.  Governments  are 
powerful,  and  resistance  sometimes  impossible. 

Popes  were  now  seeking  sensual  indulgence,  worldly 
pomp  and  aggrandizement  in  Rome.  Tlie  Mohammedans 
were  subduing  the  best  provinces  of  Asia.  The  Christians 
were  anathematized  as  Arians,  Nestorians,  Manicheans, 
and  Paulicians,  and  suiTered  for  their  religion ;  yet,  amid 
storms  of  persecution,  they  carried  it  to  unknown  lands. 
"The  Nestorians  of  Chaldea  were  carrying  the  lamp  of 
Christianity  among  the  barbarous  nations." 


420  CHURCH    HISTORY" 

Learning  was  almost  wlxolly  neglected.  The  whole 
course  of  science  was  confined  to  grammar,  rhetoric,  logic, 
arithmetic,  geometry,  music  and  astronomy,  taught  in  a 
most  barbarous  manner,  and  confined  to  the  priestly  bounds 
of  the  circumference  of  Catholic  bigotry. 

Three  hundred  years  popery  had  been  striving  to  suhju- 
gate  the  Christians.  In  the  days  of  Theodosius  the  priests 
obtained  command  of  the  throne,  which  they  held  with 
firmness.  Whoever  was  emperor  the  bishops  ruled,  and 
the  succession  was  determined  by  political  priests  and 
juggling  bishops,  who  gambled  in  the  souls  of  men.  The 
State  Church  was  governed  by  priests,  who  looked  to  the 
governments  for  their  bread  and  their  power.  It  was  a 
political  hierarchy;  a  nnion  of  pontiffs,  priests  and  emper- 
ors. The  true  church,  like  the  Hebrew  children,  walked 
in  the  midst  of  fire.  It  is  hard,  even  by  power,  to  change 
the  religion  of  a  people.  Three  hundred  years  of  slaughter 
found  the  Christians  still  a  people  and  a  church,  preserved 
by  Him  who  gave  the  promise,  "  The  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  her."  They  were  given  to  the  sword, 
but  the  sword  became  sick  of  the  slaughter.  They  were 
delivered  to  the  assassin,  but  the  assassin's  arm  wearied 
with  the  work.  The  martyrs  accepted  the  funeral  pile  as 
a  fiery  chariot  for  glory,  and  the  sword  as  the  ford  over 
the  Red  Sea  to  the  better  country;  and  still  the  multitudes 
crowded  the  shore.  Millions  may  be  quickly  computed, 
but  their  butchery  is  a  slow  process. 

Arius  held  "the  incomprehensibleness  of  the  divine 
essence."     Jortin,  ii.  400. 

Eunomius  said:  "In  vain  did  our  Lord  call  himself 
the  door,  if  no  one  enters  through  this  door  to  the  knowl 
edge  and  contemplation  of  the  Father:  in  vain  did  he  call 
himself  the  way,  if  he  has  not  made  it  easy  for  those  who 
would  do  so  to  come  to  the  Father.  How  could  he  be  the 
light,  if  he  did  not  enlighten  men?'' 

Arius  and  Eunomius  made  the  incarnationof  the  Logos 
to  consist  simply  in  his  becoming  united  with  a  human 
body.     If  in  such  passages  Trinitarians  met  them  with  the 


THE   CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  421 

distinction  of  the  two  natures,  they  charged  them  with 
denying  the  true  personal  unity  of  the  one  Son  of  God  and 
the  one  Clirist,  and  mailing  two  Sons  of  God  and  two 
Chris  ts. 

"  Whilst,  by  Arius  and  Eunomius,  the  older  church 
doctrine  of  Christ's  humanity  was  brought  up  anew,"  Sa- 
bellianism  and  Samosatanianisni  were  repeated  over  again 
in  the  doctrines  of  Marcellus  of  Ancyra  and  of  Photinus 
and  winked  at  by  Athanasius  and  Pope  Julius.  Neander, 
ii.  395. 

Pricillian,  Neander  thinks,  was  made  to  coniess  on  the 
rack  doctrines  or  practices  which  he  did  not  hold.  The 
Catholics  were  bitter,  pitiless  and  unjust,  and  abused  all 
the  opponents  of  the  State  religion  as  Arians,  though  they 
tad  not  received  their  faith  from  him.  Yet  they  all  gen- 
erally agreed  in  distinguishing  the  Logos  in  God,  from  the 
person  of  Christ,  contrary  to  Paul  of  Samosata  and  the  Ca- 
tholics.    Neander,  ii.  290. 

The  Jews,  as  well  as  the  Christians,  felt  the  bitterness 
of  persecution.  The  Bishop  of  Alexandria  led  his  monks  to 
the  attack  of  the  synagogue.  The  Jews,  unprepared  to  re- 
sist, saw  their  houses  of  prayer  leveled  to  the  ground  by 
the  Episcopal  warrior,  who  rewarded  his  followers  with  the 
spoils  of  40,000  Jews,  whom  he  stripped  of  their  wealth 
and  expelled  from  the  city.  Orestes,  the  governor,  com- 
plained, but  five  hundred  armed  monks  answered  his  ap- 
peal by  a  volley  of  stones,  and  he  fell,  covered  with  blood 
The  citizens  hastened  to  his  rescue,  and  the  leader,  Amo- 
nius,  was  punished  by  the  governor,  but  canonized  by  the 
Church. 

A.  D.  428.  Hypatia,  the  female  philosopher,  was  the 
ornament  of  the  schools  of  Athens  and  Alexandria;  she 
insensibly  turned  from  the  charms  of  youth  to  the  lessons  of 
geometry  and  ethics,  and  disciples  of  every  rank  listened 
to  the  instruction  of  her  academy.  The  bishop  was  tossed 
Upon  the  tumultuous  waves  of  bigotry,  hate,  and  envy.  She 
was  "  torn  from  her  chariot,  stripped  naked,  dragged  to  the 
church,  her  flesh  scraped  with  sharp  oyster  shells,  and  her 


422  CHURCH    HISTORY 

quivering  limbs  cast  into  the  flames,"  under  the  sanction 
of  Cyril  of  Alexandria.  (Gib.  iv.  394.)  The  people  of  the 
East  had  not  adopted  the  scheme  of  the  two  natures  of 
Christ ;  and — 

A.  D.  482,  Jerusalem  was  overrun  with  monks.  They 
pillaged,  burnt,  murdered,  and  defiled  the  sephulcher  with 
blood  to  establish  one  nature.  In  Egypt  Proterius  com- 
manded two  thousand  soldiers  ;  but  the  patriarch  was  mur- 
dered in  the  baptistery,  his  flesh  given  to  the  flames,  and 
his  ashes  to  the  wind,  and  ''  Timothy,  the  Cat,"  succeeded 
Dioscorus.     Gib.  iv.  411. 

Stigmatized  as  Arians,  the  people  of  Constantinople 
"  braved  the  severity  of  the  laws,  their  clergy  equaled  the 
wealth  and  magnificence  of  the  senate,  and  the  gold  and 
silver  were  seized  b}''  the  rapacious  hand  of  Justinian."  A 
bishop  named  as  Inquisitor  of  the  Faith,  sternly  discov- 
ered all  heretics.  The  great  Photius,  choosing  between 
popery  and  death,  preferred  to  die  a  pagan,  and  escaped 
the  power  of  the  priest  by  suicide.  The  Samaritans  of 
Palestine,  rejected  by  Jews,  Pagans,  and  Catholics,  when 
proffered  by  Justinian  baptism  or  death,  rejected  the  former? 
and  twenty  thousand  were  slain,  and  twenty  thousand  were 
sold  into  slavery.  One  hundred  thousand  Roman  subjects 
were  exterminated.  The  remnant  of  the  people  received 
Catholic  baptism  from  the  murderers,  and  Justinian  left 
his  Catholic  converts  in  possession  of  the  smoking  ruins 
of  their  former  fruitful  provinces.     Gib.  iv.  417. 

Haweis  says  that  Arianism  greatly  prevailed  among  the 
barbarous  nations  (i.  400).  Pelagians,  Monothelites  and 
Nestorians  all  opposed  the  Catholic  corporation.  In  Italy, 
Germany,  Spain  and  Southern  France  an  "innumerable 
company"  existed  of  the  meek  and  lowly  of  all  nations, 
principally  of  those  who  abhorred  the  Roman  corporation, 
which  seemed  to  be  entirely  forsaken  of  God,  and  fast  de- 
scending into  the  deepest  vaults  of  infamy.  The  important 
thing ;  the  one  thing  needful ;  the  pearl  of  great  price,  is 
the  hidden  treasure  of  goodness,  embracing  purity  and 
charity,  love  to  God  and  man,  without  which  it  is  little 


MANICUEAN   AND   CATHOLIC    CONTROVERSY.  423 

difference  what  the  creed  is  or  what  the  name.  This,  with 
virtue,  learning  and  philosophy  were  gradually  decaying. 
Logic  was  looked  upon  as  the  principal  wisdom.  .  The  Ro- 
man priests  stood  between  the  governments  and  the  people 
and  by  authority  held  the  keys  to  the  avenues  of  knowl- 
edge, and  generally  locked  the  gates  and  put  the  keys  in 
their  pockets,  neither  entering  in  themselves,  nor  suffering 
others  to  go  in.  The  Bible  began  to  be  suspected  of  her- 
etical influence.  To  burn  Manicheans  and  Paulicians  was 
regarded  as  both  a  duty  and  an  amusement. 

MANICHEAN   AND   CATHOLIC   CONTROVERSY. 

Jortin  says :  "  This  also  is  what  Faustus  fails  not  to 
retort  upon  Augustine,  and  to  represent  the  Catholics  as 
schismatics  who,  having  separated  themselves  from  the 
Gentiles,  had  retained  many  of  their  errors  and  supersti- 
tions. 'You  have  substituted,'  says  he,  'your  Agapce  to 
the  sacrifices  of  the  Pagans,  and  to  their  idols  your  mar- 
tyrs, whom  you  serve  with  the  very  same  honors.  You 
appease  the  shades  of  the  dead  with  wines  and  feasts;  you 
celebrate  the  solemn  festivals  of  the  Gentiles,  their  calends 
and  their  solstices;  and  as  to  their  7)ianners^i\\o^Q  you  have 
retained  without  any  alteration.  Nothing  distinguishes 
you  from  the  Pagans,  except  that  you  hold  your  assemblies 
apart  from  them.'  'The  Pagans  serve  the  Deity  by  tem- 
ples, images,  altars,  victims,  perfumes.  As  for  me,  I  serve 
him  in  another  manner,  and  have  quite  another  notion  of 
the  worship  which  is  agreeable  to  him.  It  is  I  myself,  if 
I  be  worthy  of  it,  who  am  the  reasonable  temple  of  God. 
I  receive  in  me  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  the  living  image  of 
the  Divine  Majesty.  A  soul  instructed  in  the  truth  is 
God's  altar;  and  as  to  the  honors  and  sacrifices  due  to  him, 
I  hold  them  to  consist  of  pure  and  pious  prayers.  How, 
then,  can  I  be  a  schismatical  Pagan?'" 

"In  this  description,"  says  Jortin.  "  we  may  discern  the 
worship  of  the  Christian  Church,  bfeore  it  was  altered  by  the 
mixture  of  numberless  Pagan  or  Judaical  ceremonies,  and 
corrupted  by  secular  pride.  So  that  if  Faustus  be  not  an 
audacious  liar,  which  there  is  no  reason  to  think,  there  was 
nothing  reprehensible  in  the  Manichean  worship.  Mani- 
chasus,  who  separated  himself  from  the  Catholic  Church  in 
the  third  century,  retained  the  worship  as  he  fo  ind  it. 


^24  CHURCH     HISTORr. 

PURITY  OF  THE  CHRISTIANS. 

Christians  are  known  by  their  spirit  and  their  character. 
Do  not  despise  those  who  are  destroyed  tor  their  religion. 
Tlie  martyr  may  be  orthodox,  since  his  destroyers  can  not 
be.  Jesus  gave  the  rule,  "Ye  shall  know  them  by  their 
fruits." 

The  Christians  had  a  reputation  for  virtue  which  was 
the  \evy  opposite  of  the  character  of  the  Catholics.  Jor- 
tin  relates  that  it  was  said  of  the  Christians  by  Paulus 
Warnefridus : 

"It  was  a  wonderful  thing,  that  in  their  kingdom,  there 
were  no  thetts,  no  robberies,  no  oppression,  no  secret 
fraud,  no  open  violence ;  but  every  one  traveled  secure 
and  without  fear."     Jor.  iii.  66. 

This  shows  the  reputation  of  the  people  slaughtered  by 
the  Romans,  as  given  by  their  enemies.  Almost  every 
king  called  Arian  is  described  by  Catholic  historians  as 
tolerant,  mild  and  just.  Such  were  the  kings  Odoacer 
Theodoric  and  Hilderic.  The  Catholic  subjects  returned 
abuse  for  this  indulgence,  called  those  Christian  princes 
heretics,  and  watched  every  opportunity  to  betray.  "But 
then  the  Romans  persecuted  universally." 

If  these  Christians  were  enemies  to  Christ,  why  did 
they  die  for  him?  Jortin  well  says:  "Many  of  the  Mar- 
cionites  suffered  martyrdom.  Why  were  these  men  put  to 
death  ?  Because  they  Avere  heretics  ?  No ;  but  because 
they  acknowledged  Jesus  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  and  would 
Bot  renounce  him,  and  sacrifice  to  idols." 

At  the  close  of  the  eighth  century  the  Christians  still 
pursued  their  spiritual  work.  Those  who  labored  most 
faithfully  in  Syria  were  anathematized  by  the  Romans  as 
Nestorians,  but  called  themselves  "Syrian  Christians." 
Those  of  Africa  were  persecuted  as  Donatists,  Monophys- 
ites,  Monotheletes  and  Abyssinians.  In  the  South  of  France 
they  were  called  Jacobites,  Faulicians  and  Manicheans. 
In  Italy,  and  most  of  the  Western  nations,  Arians.  Romans 
called  themselves  Catholics,  and  were  called  also  Melchitea 
or  Royalists.    The  Imperial  government,  with  all  its  splea- 


REVIEW.  425 

dor,  was  not  able  to  remove  the  tarnish  of  tyranny  and 
heresy  from  their  character.  It  was  said,  "Their  faith,  in- 
stead of  resting  on  the  basis  of  Scripture,  reason  or  tradi- 
tion, had  been  established,  and  was  still  maintained,  by 
the  arbitrary  power  of  a  temporal  monarch."  The  creed 
of  Rome  and  Constantinople  was  preached  wherever  the 
Imperial  power  held  sway.     iv.  424. 

Before  descending  further  into  the  gloomy  labyrinths 
of  the  dark  ages,  I  will  bring  forward  the  history  of  the  em. 
perors,  and  review  religion  as  connected  with  the  govern- 
ment. 

Review. — The  emperors  and  religion  as  seen  frorn  the 
palace. 

The  government  having  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
priests,  the  emperors  were  often  their  creatures,  and  are 
interesting  principally,  as  the  oppressors  of  the  people,  and 
an  index  to  the  character  of  the  Catholic  religion.  Jus- 
tinian's reign  was  the  soldier's  controversy  with  the  church; 
a  campaign  of  thirty-eight  years,  with  fire  and  sv.'ord,  to 
establish  the  Catholic  Church. 

A.  D.  565.  November  14.  Justin  succeeded  his  uncle 
Justinian,  who  died  childless.  The  loss  of  Italy  induced 
Justin  to  associate  Tiberius  I.  in  the  government,  the  tall- 
est and  handsomest  of  the  Romans.  Justin  died  October 
5,  573,  and  August  13,  582,  Maurice  succeeded  Tiberius, 
and  reigned  over  the  East  and  over  himself  for  twenty- 
years.  But  he  resigned  the  government  of  the  Alps  to 
the  Franks,  "  and  the  pope  encouraged  them  to  violate 
their  oaths"  and  slaughter  misbelievers. 

A.  D.  590  began  the  reign  of  Pope  Gregory  the  Great, 
who  adopted  every  means  to  bring  the  Christians  into  un- 
ion with  the  Catholic  Church.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
sixth  century,  the  Emperor  Maurice  perished  by  the  sword 
of  rebellion,  after  seeing  his  five  sons  butchered  before  his 
eyes;  and  Phocus,  the  rebel  monster,  reigned  in  his  stead 
till  slain  by  Heraclius,  October  5,  610.  During  these  troub- 
le!J  the  popes  and  French  kings  continued  the  persecution 
of  the  Christians.     Heraclius  was  driven  from  his  throne 


426  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

by  the  Persian  monarch;  armed  among  the  mountains 
near  the  Black  Sea,  and  returned  to  carry  the  war  into 
Persia.  Al'ler  this  he  enjoyed  prosperity  and  glory ;  but 
the  provinces  which  he  gained  from  the  Persians  were 
soon  captured  by  the  soldiers  of  Mohammed. 

A.  D.  6-il.  Heraclius  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Con- 
stantine  III.,  who  reigned  one  hundred  and  thirty  days. 

A.  D.  641,  Maratina,  the  widow  of  Heraclius,  and  step- 
mother of  Constantine,  ascended  the  throne  only  to  be 
degraded  and  mutilated  by  the  loss  of  her  nose.  She  gave 
place  to  Constans  IL,  the  son  of  Constantine  III. 

A.  D.  641.    Constans  was  soon  murdered  in  a  bath,  and, 

A.  D.  688  ,his  son,  Constantine  IV.  began  his  cruel  reign. 

A.  D.  685.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Justinian  U.; 
the  cruel  boy  who  punished  his  enemies  by  hanging  them 
by  the  feet  over  a  slow  fire.  Leontius,  a  general  whom  he 
had  cast  into  prison,  was  delivered  by  a  faction,  or  by  the 
people,  who  condemned  the  tyrant  to  the  loss  of  his  nose 
and  tongue,  and  to  banishment.  Such  cruel  mutilations 
were  very  common  with  the  Catholics. 

A  D.  695.  Leontius  was  in  his  turn  dethroned  and 
mulilated  by  Ipsimar  (Tiberius);- but  the  throne  was  re- 
covered by  Justinian,  who  in  return  slew  the  enemies  who 
had  insulted  him  while  in  exile,  to  be  in  turn  himself  slain 
by  an  assassin  ;  and  by  the  murder  of  his  sons  the  assas- 
sins ended  a  race  which  had  occupied  the  throne  one  hun- 
dred years. 

A.  D.  Til.  Philippicus  reveled  a  few  days  in  the  lux- 
ury of  the  court,  but  was  soon  seized,  blinded  and  deposed 
and, 

A.  D.  713.  Anastasius  H.  ascended  the  throne.  In  716 
he  was  forced  to  retire  and  give  place  to  Theodosius  III. 

A.  D.  718.  Leo  III.,  the  Isaurian,  who  founded  a  new 
dynasty  and  reigned  twenty-four   years ;   was   succeeded, 

A.  D.  741,  by  his  son  Constantine  V.,  called  Coprony. 
mus.  This  prince  had  the  good  fortune,  or  the  bad  fortune, 
to  be  opposed  to  idolatry,  a  sin  which  the  Roman  Church 
never   forgives.     They   called   him   the   Spotted  Panther, 


REVIEW.  427 

Antichrist,  Dragon,  Serpent.  Yet  others  revered  his  virtues. 
In  after  years  fanaticism  proclaimed  a  vision.  The  Hero 
was  seen  upon  a  milk-white  steed,  encouraging  the  Chris- 
tian warriors  against  the  Pagans.  "  Absurd  fable,"  said  the 
priest,  "  Oopronymus  is  chained  with  the  demons  in  hell." 

A.  D.  775.  Leo  IV.,  son  of  Oopronymus,  ascended  the 
throne.  Leo's  five  brothers  promised  to  watch  over  his 
infant  son ;  and,  on  betraying  their  trust,  the  eldest  suffered 
the  loss  of  his  eyes,  and  the  other  four  their  tongues. 

A.  D.  780.  Constantine  VL  reigned  with  his  mother 
Irene.  Constantine  V.  had  married  a  kScythian,  but  his 
son  Leo  was  united  with  Irene,  an  Athenian,  who  now 
reigned  with  great  ambition.  The  boy  emperor  concluded 
to  banish  his  mother.  She  chastised  him  for  his  insolence. 
He  waited  his  time,  and  Irene  was  dismissed.  She  was  a 
Catholic.  The  priests  were  her  creatures.  A  conspiracy 
was  formed.  The  young  emperor  fled,  but  the  creatures  of 
Irene  found  him  out,  and  plunged  their  daggers  into  the 
eyes  of  her  son.  He  survived,  but  was  incapable  of  dis- 
turbing the  splendor  of  her  reign.  After  five  years  she 
was  driven  from  the  throne  by  Nicephorus,  and  earned  her 
bread  by  the  distafl". 

NINTH    CKNTURY. 

A.  D.  802  to  811.  This  period  marks  the  short  and 
disgraceful  reign  of  Nicephorus,  who  was  slain  in  battle. 
Michael  I.  succeeded.  After  two  years  he  resigned  the 
throne  and  retired  to  a  private  life  of  thirty-two  years. 

A.  D.  813.  Leo,  the  Armenian,  declared  himself  against 
images.  He  called  a  council,  and  persecuted  the  monks, 
who  blindly  adored  their  brainless  brethren,  the  images. 
Leo  ascended  the  throne  by  the  aid  of  Michael  the  Phry- 
gian, who  still  regarded  Leo  as  his  creature.  The  emperor's 
threats  encouraged  boldness,  till  he  was  forced  to  imprison 
the  traitor.  His  execution  was  delayed  to  avoid  the  25th 
of  December.  Leo  visited  his  cell,  and  Michael  slept 
quietly,  "released  from  his  chains."  It  was  evident  that 
treason  was  all  around,  and  Leo  was  alarmed.     Well  he 


d23  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

might  be.  A  slave  reported  his  secret  visit,  and  Michael 
informed  the  priests.  Tlie  conspirators  hurried  their  work. 
In  ecclesiastical  robes  they  entered  the  church  on  the 
great  festival  of  the  Savior's  birth,  with  swords  secreted 
beneath  their  vestments,  and,  at  a  signal,  slew  the  emperor 
at  the  foot  of  the  altar;  and  Michael  II.,  the  Stammerer, 
ascended  the  throne.  "As  a  smith  could  not  readily  be 
obtained,  the  fetters  remained  on  his  legs  several  hours 
after  he  was  seated  on  the  throne  of  the  Cesars.-'  They 
were  all  Catholics ;  but  for  the  discrepancy  concerning  the 
chains,  see  Gib,  v.  29. 

Michael  II.  soon  deserted  the  idolaters.  He  wrote  that 
they  put  up  images  in  the  churches,  with  lighted  lamps, 
and  worshiped  them  with  incense  and  song,  supplicating 
them.  That  they  dressed  the  female  images  in  robes,  and 
made  them  godmothers  to  their  children.  The  clergy 
were  required  to  repeat  by  heart  every  Sunday  the  creed 
of  St.  Athanasius. 

A.  D.  829.  Theophilus  succeeded  his  father,  Michael  II. 
To  select  a  wife  the  beautiful  virgins  were  assembled  in 
parallel  lines.  The  emperor  walked  between  with  a  gold- 
en apple.  His  eye  resting  on  the  beautiful  Icasia,  before 
presenting  the  apple,  he  said:  '-In  this  world  women  have 
been  the  cause  of  much  evil."  "And  of  much  good,'' 
pertly  replied  the  beauty.  The  wit  was  ill-timed,  and  lost 
her  fortune,  and  the  modest  Theodora  received  the  apple. 

A.  D.  831.  Joannes  Scotus  said  that  the  bread  and 
wine  were  signs  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  and  was 
persecuted.  Godeschalcus  maintained  Fatalism.  He  was 
wdiipped  and  compelled  to  burn  his  own  writings.  He  died 
in  jail.     Jortin,  iii.  90. 

Theodora,  the  empress,  sent  an  army  to  convert  the 
Faulicians  and  Manicheans,  who  had  found  refuge  in  Ar- 
menia under  the  Saracens.  She  slew  100,000,  and  confis- 
cated their  goods.  The  Faulicians  then  united  with  the 
Saracens.  They  held  views  akin  to  those  now  held  by  the 
Quakers. 

A.  D.  842.     Michael  III.  succeeded  his  father  at  tho 


REVIEW.  429 

tender  age  of  five  3'ears.  As  his  guardian,  Theodora  re- 
Btored  images  and  idols,  and  thus  endeared  herself  to  the 
Catholics;  but  Michael,  her  son,  "used  to  drive  char- 
iots himself  in  the  circus,  and  to  stand  godfather  to  the 
children  of  charioteers.  He  had  about  him  a  select  band 
of  buffoons  and  j)rofligates,  whom  he  made  to  wear  the 
episcopal  robes,  and  mimic  the  most  sacred  rites  and  cer- 
emonies. One  of  them  was  called  patriarch  of  Constanti- 
nople. The  rest  were  bishops  of  various  sees,  and  he  re- 
presented a  bishop.  They  imitated  the  chants  of  the 
church  upon  guitars,  playing  forte^  and  then  piano^  to  re- 
present the  priests,  sometimes  speaking  softly,  and  then 
aloud.  They  had  golden  vases,  adorned  with  jewels,  which 
they  filled  with  vinegar  and  mustard,  and  gave  it  by  way 
of  communion.  In  this  manner  they  made  processions 
through  the  streets  of  Constantinople.  One  day  they  met 
the  patriarch  on  a  procession  with  the  clergy;  and  rejoic- 
ing at  so  favorable  an  opportunitj^,  they  began  to  chant  to 
the  guitar,  and  attacked  the  patriarch  with  profane  and 
opprobrious  language."  Jortin,iii.96  ;  Fleury,  x.  435,  xl.  362  ; 
Mosheim,  351. 

A.  D.  861.  Photius  was  made  patriarch  of  Constantino- 
ple. Never  was  there  a  patriarch  so  persecuted  by  the 
popes  as  this  man,  who  had  more  learning  and  judgment 
than  almost  all  the  popes  put  together. 

The  Christians,  the  majority  of  whom  vigorously  op- 
posed the  heresy  of  the  Homan  Church,  had  now  two  pow- 
ers to  conciliate,  avoid,  or  suffer  under ;  the  prophet  and 
the  pope.  The  pope  was  the  most  cruel.  The  prophet 
permitted  tribute.  The  balances  were  in  his  hand.  "A 
measure  of  wheat  for  a  penny."  A  new  power  was  now 
arising. 

A.  D.  886.  Mosheim  says  :  "  That  Photius,  the  learned 
bishop  of  Constantinople,  com])lained  that  the  Latins  did 
not  abstain  from  the  use  of  blood,  and  things  strangled; 
that  their  monks  used  to  eat  lard,  and  permitted  the  use 
of  flesh  to  such  of  the  brethren  as  were  sick  or  infirm; 
that  their  bishops  adorned  tlieir  fingers  with  rings,  as  if 
they  were  bridegrooms;  that  their  priests  were  beardless; 


430  CnURCII    HISTORY. 

and  that  in  tlie  ceremony  of  baptism  they  confined  them- 
selves to  one  immersion.  The  attentive  reader  will  hence 
form  a  just  idea  of  the  deplorable  state  of  religion  both 
in  the  eastern  and  western  world  at  this  period,  and  will 
see,  in  this  dreadful  schism,  the  true  origin  of  the  various 
sects  that  multiplied  the  different  forms  of  superstition 
and  error  in  these  unhappy  times."      i.  288. 

Mosheim  says:  "Tiie  Manicheans  or  Paulicians,  whose 
errors  have  been  already  pointed  out,  gathered  considera- 
ble strength  in  Thrace  under  the  reign  of  John  Tzimisces. 
A  great  part  of  this  restless  and  turbulent  sect  had  been 
transported  into  that  province,  by  the  order  of  Constantine 
Copronymus,  as  early  as  the  eighth  century."     i.  251. 

How  blind  is  bigotry!  We  e  not  the  Apostolic  Chris- 
tians "restless  and  turbulent?"     Mosheim  proceeds: 

'^To  put  an  end  to  the  commotions  which  they  had  ex- 
cited in  the  east,  but  a  still  greater  number  of  them  were 
left  behind,  especially  in  Syria  and  the  adjacent  countries. 
Hence  it  was  that  Theodore,  bishop  of  Antioch,  from  a 
pious  apprehension  of  the  danger  to  which  his  flock  lay 
exposed  from  the  neighborhood  of  such  pernicious  here- 
tics, engaged  the  emperor,  by  his  ardent  and  importunate 
solicitations,  to  send  a  new  colony  of  these  Manicheans 
from  Syria  to  Philippi.  From  Tlirace  they  passed  into 
Bulgaria  and  Sclavonia,  where  they  long  resided  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  their  own  pontiff  or  patriarch.  After 
the  Council  of  Basle  had  commenced  its  deliberations, 
these  sectaries  removed  into  Italy,  and  thence  spreading 
themselves  through  the  other  provinces  of  Europe,  they 
became  extremely  troublesome  to  the  popes  on  many  oc- 
casions. In  the  last  year  in  this  century  arose  a  certain 
teacher,  whose  name  was  Lentard,  who  lived  at  Vertus,  in 
the  diocese  of  Chalons,  and  in  a  short  time  drew  after  him 
a  considerable  number  of  disciples.  This  new  doctor 
could  not  bear  the  superstitious  worship  of  images,  which 
he  is  said  to  have  opposed  with  the  utmost  vehemence, 
and  even  to  have  broken  in  pieces  an  image  of  Christ, 
which  he  found  in  a  church  where  he  went  to  perform  his 
devotions."     Mosheim,  i.  251. 

Moslieim's  extravagant  censure  is  the  language  of  big- 
otry. 

A.  D.  StiT.  Basil,  the  Macedonian,  ascended  the  throne 
He  was  a  friend  of  Photius,  and  gave  much  attention  to 
learning,  to  building  and  to  jurisprudence. 


REVIEW.  43l 

A.  D.  886.  Leo  VI.  ascended  the  throne.  He  was  a 
friend  of  tlie  pope.  He  expelled  Photius,  and  received 
the  reward  of  his  bigotry  in  being  scandalized  because  of 
a  fourth  marriage.  Photius  was  imprisoned  in  a  monas 
tery  and  died.  The  Roman  Church  was  limited  to  the  gov 
ernment  patronage  party  in  Southern  Europe,  where  the 
mass  of  the  people  were  yet  called  Arian.  The  Northern 
part  and  Spain  were  only  Roman  by  constraint.  Syria, 
and  Palestine,  and  Egypt,  and  indeed  all  Asia  and  Africa, 
had  rejected  popery,  and  were  excommunicated  as  Mo- 
nophysites  and  Nestorians  in  the  seventh  century. 

The  Catholic  historian  saj's: 

'^  Besides  the  Monothelites,  who  had  lately  sprung  up, 
the  heretics  of  older  date,  such  as  the  Nestorians  in  Syria, 
the  Jacobites  or  Eutj^chians  in  Egypt,  being  no  longer 
awed  by  the  civil  power  of  a  Christian  sovereign,  openly 
avowed  their  erroneous  principles.  By  the  intrusion  of 
false  pastors  into  the  patriarchal  Sees  of  Alexandria,  of 
Antioch  and  Jerusalem,  the  succession  of  Catholic  bishops 
is  broken  in  those  oppressed  churches;  nor  from  that  time 
downward  is  it  to  be  clearly  ascertained.''    Reeves,  p.  201. 

There  was  no  intrusion.  They  simply  rejected  Rome, 
and  retained  their  own  pastors.  They  early  carried  the 
gospel  to  China,  as  proved  by  documents  of  A.  D.  781. 
The  conversion  of  a  Tartar  tribe  gave  them  the  Monarch 
Priest,  called  Prester  John,  in  the  eleventh  celltur3^ 

At  the  end  of  the  eighth  century  the  shrine  of  Saint 
Thomap,  the  Manichean,  in  Madras,  India,  was  visited 
by  the  ambassadors  of  King  Alfred  of  England,  and  the 
merchants  returned  ladened  with  a  cargo  of  spices  and 
pearls  from  the  visit  to  the  Christians  of  Malabar,  in  India 
The  Bishop  of  Angamala  was  the  Metropolitan  of  India^ 
with  the  care  of  one  thousand  four  hundred  churches,  and 
two  hundred  thousand  communicants. 

A.  D.  1500.  The  Portuguese  inquisitors  discovered 
their  dreadful  heresy.  They  did  not  acknowledge  the 
pope,  nor  Mary  as  theMother  of  God.  They  said,  "We  are 
Christians,  and  not  idolaters."     Ages  of  persecution  have 


432  CHURCH  history. 

changed  without  annihilating  the  faith  of  these  Nostorians. 

Reeves,  the  Catholic  historian,  complains  as  follows: 
"After  Arianism  arose,  other  monsters  of  the  same  infernal 
origin,  though  in  different  sliapes,  under  the  names  of  Ma- 
cedonianism,  Nestorianism,  Entychism,  Monothelism,  and 
Iconoclasm,"  "In  the  adorable  mysteries  of  the  Trinity 
and  Incarnation,  in  the  divine  and  human  nature  of  our 
blessed  Redeemer,  there  is  scarce  an  article  which  the 
speculative  genius  of  the  Orientals  has  not  misrepresented, 
and  wrested  to  a  wrong  sense."     p.  265. 

By  this  the  reader  can  understand  that  the  Roman 
Church  was  as  far  from  being  Catholic  at  the  close  of  the 
ninth  century  as  now. 

The  ninth  century  closes  with  the  Roman  Church  mostly 
expelled  from  Asia  and  Africa  and  only  maintaining  its 
existence  by  the  sword  and  the  faggot  in  Greece,  Italy, 
and  the  Western  nations. 

tenth  century. 

A.  D.  911.  At  this  time  Constantine  VII.,  the  natural 
Bon  of  Leo  VI.  by  Zoe,  succeeded  his  father.  He  was 
a  student,  fond  of  music,  and  a  respectable  painter.  Next, 
Roman  us,  a  naval  commander,  declared  himself  Cesar,  and 
his  sons,  Christopher,  Stephen,  and  Constantine,  were 
adorned  with  the  purple.  The  sons  banished  their  father, 
and,  conspiring  against  the  true  emperor,  were  seized  and 
sent  to  join  their  father,  who  met  them  on  the  beach  and 
offered  them  an  equal  share  of  his  vegetable  diet.  Coa- 
staiitir.e  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 

A.  D.  950,  Romanus  II.  On  his  death  Theophano, 
his  widow,  married  and  exalted  to  the  throne,  in  963,  Ni- 
cephorus  IL,  who  was  slain  by  the  more  successful  lover, 
John  the  Armenian.  John  was  successful  in  his  wars 
against  the  Russians  and  the  Saracens.  Basil  and  Con- 
stantine IX.,  sons  of  Romanus,  now  of  age,  assumed  the 
purple  in  976.  Their  reign  was  long  and  obscure,  and 
Constantine  was  succeeded  by  Romanus  III.,  his  son-in-law. 
"All  the  writers  of  this  age  complain  of  the  ignorance 
licentiousness,  frauds,  debaucheries,  dissensions  and  enor- 


REVIEW.  433 

mities  that  dishonored  the  greatest  part  of  the  monastic 
orders,  not  to  mention  the  numerous  marks  of  their  pro- 
fligacy and  impiety  that  have  been  handed  down  to  our 
times."     Mosh.  i.  279. 

A.  D.  989.  The  Russians  were  converted  by  the  State 
Church,  and  adopted  the  rites  of  the  Greeks. 

A.  D.  990,  ^Ifric,  a  learned  English  ecclesiastic,  rec- 
ommended  to  all  Christians  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures 
in  the  vulgar  tongue,  and  condemned  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation,  which  was  then  creeping  into  the 
church. 

Christians  still  lived,  persecuted  and  slain  under  dilTer- 
ent  names.     Jortin  says  : 

''The  Manicheans  or  Paulicians,  who  dwelt  in  Bulgaria 
and  Thrace,  were  persecuted  by  the  Greeks.  They  spread 
themselves  in  Italy,  and  in  other  parts  of  Europe;  and 
then  the  popes  waged  war  with  them.  They  were  called] 
Paterini,  Cathari,  Albigenses,  Bulgari,  Boni  Homines,  etc 
Some  of  them  were  burnt  for  their  heresy;  but  m.any  of 
them  seem  to  have  adopted  but  very  little  of  the  Mani- 
chean  system."     Jor.  iii.  130. 

The  Mohammedans  were  now  overrunning  the  Eastern- 
world.     Fleury,  the  Catholic,  says  of  the  Mohammedans. 

"Their  religion  had  in  it  something  that  was  plausible. 
They  preached  up  the  unity  of  God;  they  abhorred  idola- 
try; they  imitated  Christian  practices,  as  prayer  at  stated 
hours,  a  month's  fast,  and  solemn  pilgrimages.  Their  in- 
dulgence of  a  pluralit}'-  of  wives  and  concubines  was  an 
allurement  to  sensual  minds.  They  employed,  amongst 
other  things,  an  artitice  extremely  pernicious  to  Christian- 
ity, Syria  abounded  with  Nestorians,  and  Egypt  with) 
Eutychians,  "vho  were,  the  one  and  the  other,  enemies  to 
the  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  and  to  the  emperors, 
whom  they  accounted  their  persecutors.  The  Moham- 
medans made  their  advantage  of  this  discord,  protecting 
the  heretics,  and  depressing  the  Catholics,  whom  they 
suspected  on  account  of  their  attachment  to  the  emperors 
of  Constantinople,  and  who  thence  had  the  name  of  Mel- 
chites,  that  is  to  say.  Royalists,  in  the  Arabian  language. 
Hence  it  is  that  these  old  h.eresies  subsist  even  to  this  day, 
and  that  the  Eastern  Christians  have  bishops  and  patri- 
archs,  of  these  different  sects,  Melchites,  Nestorians,  and 
Jacobites,  or  Eutychians."  p.  15  7. 
28 


434  CHURCH  history. 

B}'^  these  various  ways,  the  Mohammedans,  without  t^taWy 
extinguishing  Christianity,  greatly  diminished  the  number 
of  true  Christians,  and  reduced  them  to  gross  ignorance 
by  a  servitude  which  deprived  them  of  the  heart  and  the 
meaus  to  prosecute  any  learned  studies.  The  change  of 
language  contributed  to  the  same  end.  The  Arabian 
which  was  the  language  of  the  rulers,  became  that  of  all 
the  east,  and  is  so  still.  The  Greek  was  preserved  only  by 
the  Christian  religion,  and  that  only  amongst  the  Mel- 
chites;  for  the  Nestorians  had  their  divine  service  in  Sy- 
riac,  and  the  Jacobites  in  Coptic  or  the  old  Egyptian. 

Jortin  says:  "A  well-known  difficulty  in  the  conversion 
of  the  Jews  (as  also  of  the  Mohammedans)  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  Holy  Trinity,  which  they  have  always  been  taught 
to  look  upo\i  as  not  reconcilable  with  the  unity  of  God. 
All  that  I  shall  say  to  this  is,  that  no  one  should  attempt 
to  remove  this  prejudice,,  and  to  satisfy  them  upon  this 
subject,  till  he  has  brought  them  to  believe  the  divine 
mission  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  his  character  as  Prophet, 
Messias,  Teacher  of  truth,  and  Worker  of  miracles.  If 
fthey  will  not  admit  the  things  relating  to  his  offices  and 
ministry,  it  would  be  a  vain  and  useless  undertaking  to 
■debate  with  them  about  the  dignity  of  his  nature.  And 
when  it  is  necessary  to  proceed  to  that  part  of  Christianity, 
■this  doctrine  should  be  represented  even  as  it  is  delivered 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  not  otherwise;  and  then  many 
things  may  be  observed  concerning  the  Aoyo^,  the  angel  of 
God's  presence,  and  the  angel  of  the  Covenant,  from  the 
'Old  Testament,  and  from  Philo,  and  from  some  ancient 
Jewish  Avriters.  It  will  also  be  well  worth  the  while  to 
consider  hov/  the  oldest  Christian  apologist  now  extant 
hath  reasoiied  with  the  Jews  upon  this  subject,  as  also  how 
Liniborch  managed  that  part  of  the  controversy  with 
Orobius.  What  right  hath  a  modern  controvertialist  to  re- 
quire more  from  a  Jew,  than  Justin  JMartyr  required  from 
Trypho?  I  might  say,  than  the  apostles  and  tirsl  preachers 
required  from  those  whom  they  converted,  when  they 
admitted  them  to  baptism?  'And  Philip  said,  if  thou 
believest  with  all  thine  heart,  thou  mayest  (be  baptized). 
And  he  answered  and  said,  I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  ia 
the  Son  of  God.  And  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might 
know  thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou 
liast  sent.'"    ii.  247. 


PETER   THE    HERMIT,    AND  THE    CRUSADES.  435 

"I  could  wish  therefore,  that  they  who  should  undertake 
to  preach  lo  tlie  Moliammedans,  were  first  well  instructed  in 
the  languages  there  spoken,  in  the  Arabian,  which  is  the 
laiigUcige  of  their  religion,  and  in  the  Turkish  and  Persian; 
that  tliey  had  attentively  perused  their  books,  and  knew 
their  doctrine,  their  histories  and  their  fables ;  in  a  word, 
that  they  had  the  same  helps  in  this  controversy  which 
the  fathers  of  the  church  had  in  their  contests  with  the 
old  pagans;  that  they  began  by  insinuating  themselves 
into  their  minds  with  such  truths  as  we  are  both  agreed 
in,  as  in  the  unity  and  other  attributes  of  God,  and  in  the 
principles  of  morality,  as  justice,  and  the  love  of  our 
neighbor.  We  should  by  no  means  enter  too  soon  into  the 
subject  of  the  Trinity  and  the  Incarnation,  against  which 
they  are  prejudiced.  It  would  be  necessary  to  establish 
the  authority  of  the  gospel,  by  removing  the  notion 
commonly  entertained  by  them,  that  this  book,  though  of 
divine  authority,  hath  been  falsified  by  the  Christians.  To 
undeceive  them  in  this  point,  a  good  use  miglit  be  made 
of  the  Nestorians  and  Jacobites,  who  dwell  amongst  them^ 
and  have  been  separated  from  us  two  hundred  years  before 
the  time  of  Mohammed,  and  who  have  preserved  the 
gospel  and  other  sacred  books  entirely  consonant  with  our 
copies."     Jortin,  iii.  362. 

PETER  THE  HERMIT,  AND  THE  CRUSADES. 

A.  D.  1093.  Peter,  a  native  of  Amiens,  in  a  journey 
through  Palestine,  had  observed  with  indignity  the  per- 
secution of  the  Christians  and  Catholics  who  visited  the 
Holy  Land.  His  spirit  was  aroused.  Naturally  enthusias- 
tic, he  became  inflamed  with  holy  indignation,  and  appeal- 
ing to  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople  and  the  pope  without 
eflect,  he  commenced  the  tour  of  Europe,  appealing  every 
where  to  the  Catholics  against  the  followers  of  Mohammed, 
and  sounded  a  holy  war  against  the  Infidels ;  exhorted 
princes  to  unsheathe  the  sword  for  God  and  his  holy  sepul- 
cher,  and  the  people  to  list  under  the  banner.  In  his  ap- 
peals he  produced  a  letter  (which  he  said)  was  written  in 
heaven,  and  addressed  to  all  true  Christians,  to  animate 
their  zeal  for  the  deliverance  of  their  brethren,  who 
groaned  under  the  oppressive  burden  of  the  Mohammedan 
yoke. 


436  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

A,  D.  1095.  Pope  Urban  assembled  the  most  numerous 
council  ever  held,  numbering  two  hundred  bishops,  four 
thousand  ecclesiastics,  and  three  hundred  thousand  lay- 
men, in  the  open  fields.  His  proposal  was  not  approved. 
But  at  the  Council  of  Clermont,  A.  D.  1096,  he  urged  the 
subject  in  person;  and  the  French  immediately  prepared 
for  what,  in  their  language,  from  the  cross,  they  called  a 
crusade.  Eight  hundred  thousand  men  set  out  for  the 
Holy  Land.  The  party  "  committed  in  their  route  such 
flagitious  crimes,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Hungary  and 
Bulgaria,  through  whose  country  they  passed,  arose  and 
massacred  the  most  of  them.  A  like  l"ate  attended  several 
other  divisions  of  the  army,  which,  under  the  conduct  of 
unskillful  chiefs,  wandered  about  like  an  undisciplined 
horde  of  robbers,  plundering  the  cities  that  lay  in  their 
way,  and  spreading  misery  and  desolation  wherever  they 
came."     Mosh.  i.  254. 

The  armies  better  commanded  arrived  safely  at  Con- 
stantinople, Godfrey,  duke  of  Lorraine,  and  Balloin,  his 
brother,  commanded  eighty  thousand  w^ell  chosen  troops 
of  horse  and  foot.  Raymond  of  Thoulouse,  Robert  of 
Flanders,  Robert  of  Normandy,  Hugh  of  France,  followed 
byBohemondof  Apulia  and  Calabria,  when  all  together, 
headed  an  army  the  jrreatest,  and,  in  outward  appearance, 
the  most  formidable  known  in  tiie  memory  of  man.  Con- 
stantinople was  the  place  of  meeting.  The  first  place 
taken  was  Nice,  in  Bythinia,  A.  D.  1097.  Next  Antioch; 
then  Edessa.  Edessa  was  bestowed  on  Baldwin.  After  a 
siege  of  five  weeks  fell  Jerusalem,  A.  D.  1099.  There 
Godfrey  was  offered  a  crcwn  of  gold,  and  saluted  as  king 
of  Jerusalem.  His  reply  was  Christian.  "I  can  not,"  said 
he,  "  bear  the  thought  of  wearing  a  crown  of  gold  in  that 
city  where  the  King  of  kings  wore  a  crown  of  thorns." 
Though  he  refused  the  title  of  king,  he  consented  to  gov- 
ern and  defend  Jerusalem,  retaining  for  that  purpose  a 
small  army.  The  rest  returned  to  their  homes  in  Europe. 
His  death  within  the  year  made  way  for  Bald.vin,  his  bro- 
ther, who  assumed  the  title  of  king  without  hesitation. 


PETER   THE    HERMIT,    AND    TUE    CRUSADES.  437 

"  We  pass  in  silence  the  murders,  rapes  and  robberies 
of  those  holy  soldiers  of  God."     Mosh.  i.  527. 

Some  writers  compute  those  who  perished  at  two  mil- 
lions. To  induce  enlistments,  the  full  absolution  of  all 
past  sins,  and  a  plenary  indulgence  was  granted  (Dec.  and 
Fall,  V.  500),  so  that  now,  this  was  deemed  the  surest  road 
to  heaven. 

The  second  crusade,  started  A.  D.  1144,  headed  by  Con- 
rad III.  and  Louis  VII.  of  France,  accomplished  nothing 
worthy  of  note.  Jerusalem  had  been  retaken  by  the 
Arabs. 

The  third  crusade  started  in  A.  D.  1188,  and  numbered 
over  300,000  fighting  men.  Dissensions  arising,  it  proved 
a  failure. 

The  fourth  crusade  was  undertaken  A.  D.  1195.  Several 
battles  were  gained. 

The  fifth  crusade  was  proclaimed  by  Pope  Innocent  III., 
A.  D.  1198.  The  plague,  and  petty  quarrels  brought  their 
endeavors  to  a  close.     They  were  easily  defeated  in  1204. 

The  sixth  crusade,  in  1228,  was  at  first  more  successful. 
The  Christians,  so-called,  took  Damietta,  but  were  after- 
ward forced  to  surrender  in  1240.  Richard,  brother  to 
Henry  III.,  king  of  England,  invaded  Palestine ;  but  con- 
cluded a  peace  and  returned,  without  prosecuting  the  war. 

The  seventh  crusade,  in  1249,  headed  by  St.  Louis,  was 
a  signal  failure.  Sickness  weakening  his  force,  and  the 
enemy  pressing  him,  his  army  was  butchered  in  a  most 
shocking  manner,  and  himself,  several  noblemen,  and  many 
soldiers  were  taken  prisoners. 

The  eighth  crusade,  in  1279,  was  headed  by  the  same 
prince,  who  had  been  liberated ;  but  nothing  decisive  was 
accomplished. 

The  Catholics  were  afterward  driven  out  of  Syria. 

Warriors  have  admired  the  martial  spirit;  statesmen 
have  balanced  the  good  and  evil  results ;  superstition  hag 
wondered,  and  enthusiasm  has  been  aroused  by  the  story 
of  the  crusades  :  but  the  Christian  regards  them  as  a  blot 
on  religion,  and  a  just  retribution  on  the  apostate  church. 


438  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

When  Jerusalem  was  taken,  the  garrison  was  put  to  the 
sword,  and  the  inhabitants  massacred  without  mercy,  or 
distinction  of  age  or  sex.  Even  the  smiling  infant  was 
destroyed.  Marching  over  heaps  of  dead  bodies,  the  Cath- 
olics sang  anthems  of  praise  to  the  Savior  of  mankind, 
whose  altars  they  were  profaning.  "  Had  the  Saracens 
possessed  the  same  odious  spirit  of  the  crusaders,  there 
would  not,  perhaps,  have  remained  a  single  Christian  in 
that  part  of  the  world."     Mosh.  i.  337. 

The  dominion  of  the  false  prophet,  though  widely  ex- 
tended, could  not  easily  be  sustained;  and  in  many  places 
the  votaries  of  the  pope  began  to  regain  their  lost  domin- 
ion, particularly  in  Spain,  where  the  king  of  Castile  and 
of  Arragon,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  firmly  established 
his  dominion,  and  took  every  cruel  means  to  convert  the 
Arabs.  His  efforts  failing,  the  "pope  urged  him  to  drive 
them  out  of  Spain,  which  was  attended  with  two  prominent 
difficulties:  first,  the  opposition  of  his  nobles,  and  second, 
the  obstinacy  of  the  Moors."     Mosh.  i.  337. 

The  names  of  Bajazet  and  Tamerlane  are  directly  con- 
nected with  the  subjugation  of  the  Greek  (Jhurch  and  the 
fall  of  Constantinople. 

Between  China  and  the  Caspian  Sea  Prester  John  had 
now  a  throne,  and  reigned  king  of  the  Turks  and  Huns. 
His  son  was  overthrown  by  Zenghis,  who  incased  his  skull 
in  silver.  Zenghis  was  a  deist.  His  peox^le,  the  Tartars, 
were  idolaters. 

The  disciples  of  Moses,  of  Christ,  and  of  Mohammed, 
existed  together  in  harmony.  And  Zenghis  subdued  the 
hordes  of  the  desert,  from  the  walls  of  China  to  the  Volga, 
and  became  the  emperor  of  many  millions  of  shepherds 
and  soldiers,  who  were  impatient  to  measure  arms  with 
the  South.  The  court  of  Tekin  was  surprised  by  an  em- 
bassy from  their  former  vassal,  demanding  of  them  the 
tribute  which  he  himself  had  formerly  paid.  "The  Son  of 
Heaven"  returned  a  haughty  answer;  but  the  great  wall 
fell  before  the  all-conquering  Zenghis.  Ninety  cities  were 
stormed  or  starved,  while  ten  only  remained ;  and  his  with- 


THE    IRIVIUM   AND   QUADRIVIUM.  439' 

drawal  was  purchased  by  the  Chinese  paying  him  three 
hundred  thousand  horses,  five  hundred  youths,  five  hund- 
red virgins,  and  a  tribute  of  gold  and  silk. 

THE   TRIVIUM   AND  QUADRIVIUM. 

"  The  seven  liberal  arts  "  were  divided  into  two  main 
parts.  "The  trlvium  was  a  term  invented  in  the  times  of 
barbarism,  to  express  the  three  sciences  that  were  first 
learned  in  the  schools,  viz :  grammar,  rhetoric,  and  logic  ; 
and  the  schools  in  which  these  sciences  alone  were  taught 
were  called  triviales.  The  quadrivium  comprehended  the 
four  mathematical  sciences:  arithmetic,  music,  geometry, 
and  astronomy,  and  marked  the  progress  of  learning." 

ELEVENTH    CENTURY.  **• 

At  the  close  of  the  tenth  century,  Mosheim  says, "  There 
were  yet  subsisting  some  remains  of  the  sect  of  the  Arians 
in  several  parts  of  Italy,  and  particularly  in  the  territory 
of  Padua."  This  signifies  simply  that  the  Christians  existed 
even  in  Italy  at  the  close  of  the  tenth,  therefore  in  the 
eleventh  century.  In  the  eleventh  century  they  were 
called  Albigenses. 

Mosheim  says:  "The  form  of  public  worship,  wliich 
was  established  at  Rome,  had  not  yet  been  received  in  all 
the  western  provinces.  ("Not  yet,"  in  600  years.)  This 
was  looked  upon  by  tlie  imperious  pontiffs  as  an  insult 
upon  their  autliority,  and  therefore  they  used  their  utmost 
efforts  to  introduce  universally  the  Roman  ceremonies,  and 
to  promote  a  jjerlect  uniformity  of  worship  in  every  part 
of  the  Latin  world.  Gregory  VII.  employed  all  his  dili- 
gence, activity,  and  zeal  in  this  enterprise,  as  appears  in 
several  passages  in  his  letters ;  and  he  alone,  perhaps,  was 
equal  to  the  execution  of  such  an  arduous  attempt.  The 
Spaniards  had  long  distinguished  themselves  above  all 
other  nations  by  their  noble  and  resolute  resistance  to  the 
despotic  attempts  of  the  popes  upon  this  occasion,  for  they 
adhered  to  their  Gothic  Liturgy."     i.  293. 

Haweis  says  :  "The  Spanish  ritual,  from  the  beginning, 
had  corresponded  with  the  Gothic  formula,  and  the  Span- 
iards were  reluctant  to  quit  their  ancient  usage.     The  im- 


440  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

perious  pontiff  enforced  the  abolition.  It  was  referred  to 
single  combat;  the  Gothic  champion  prevailed:  a  second 
ordeal  by  fire  was  referred  to;  the  Gothic  ritual  passed,  it 
is  affirmed,  the  flames  unhurt.  But  Gregory  persevered. 
The  Queen  Constantia  fjivored  the  Pope,  and  King  Antonio 
consented  to  adopt  the  Roman  ritual,  in  opposition  to  the 
wishes  of  the  people,  and  what  was  then  generally  sup- 
posed, the  dictates  of  heaven.  Such  dominion  had  the 
Papal  See  assumed  over  the  consciences  of  men."  Jortin, 
i.  478. 

Mosheim  says  the  Spaniards  continued  "  their  ancient 
Gothic  (Christian)  Liturgy  with  great  obstinacy,  and  could 
not  be  brought  to  change  it  for  the  method  of  worship  es- 
tablished at  Rome.  Alexander  II.  had  indeed  proceeded 
so  far,  in  1068,  as  to  persuade  the  inhabitants  of  Arragon 
into  his  measures,  and  to  conquer  the  aversion  which  the 
Catalonians  had  discovered  for  the  Romauistic  worship." 
Finally,  the  pope  worried  the  king  into  submission,  and 
they  consented  to  abolish  the  Gothic  service  in  their 
churches,  and  to  introduce  the  Roman  in  its  place,  in  1089. 
See  Mosh.  i.  293. 

So  that  even  Spain  did  not  fully  adopt  the  Catholic 
religion  till  near  the  twelfth  century.  Like  the  crooked 
stick  that  could  not  lie  still,  the  Roman  Trinity  was  the 
occasion  of  continual  dispute.  Two  parties  distracted  the 
learned  with  their  logic.  Roscelinus,  of  France,  headed 
the  Nominalists,  who  contended  the  Son  could  not  take 
human  nature  separately,  unless  the  Father,  Son  and  Spirit 
were  three  separate  things,  and  if  three  separate  things, 
they  are  three  Gods.  The  Realists  thought  them  names 
and  realities,  but  not  things.  It  was  the  old  effort  to 
steer  between  tritheism  and  Sabellianism,  an  impossible 
feat. 

'•Joachim  denied  that  there  was  any  thing,  or  any  es- 
sence, that  belonged  in  common  to  the  three  persons  in 
the  Trinity,  or  was  jointly  possessed  by  them;  by  which 
doctrine  the  substantial  union,  among  the  three  persons, 
was  taken  away,  and  the  union  of  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  was  reduced  from  a  natural,  simple,  and  nu- 
merical unity,  to  a  moral  one  only;  that  is,  to  such  an  unity 


ELEVENTH    CENTURY.  441 

as  reigns  in  tlie  counsels  and  opinions  of  different  persons, 
who  embrace  the  same  nolions,  and  think  and  act  with 
one  accord.  This  explication  of  the  Trinity  was  looked 
upon  by  many  as  very  little  diU'erent  from  tiie  Arian  sys- 
tem ;  and  therefore  Pope  Innocent  III.  pronounced,  in  1215, 
in  the  Lateran  Council,  a  damnatory  sentence  a^'ainst  the 
doctrine  of  Joachim;  not  extending,  however,  to  the  per- 
son or  fame  of  the  abbot  himself.  Notwithstanding  this 
papal  sentence,  Joachim  has  at  this  day  a  considerable 
nuuiber  of  adherents."     Mosh.  i.  380. 

These  disputes  on  the  Trinity  continued  from  the  fourth 
century  through  all  ages.  There  could  be  but  three  the- 
ories : 

I.  God  is  one,  manifesting  himself  in  three  ways;  this 
is  Sabellianism,  and  has  always  been  branded  as  heresy,  in 
that  it  destroys  the  being  of  the  Son. 

11.  God  is  three  persons,  who  are  beings  ;  this  is  trithe- 
ism,  or  heresy  in  its  worst  form. 

III.  God  is  one  Father,  and  source  of  all.     The  Son  is 
His  Son.     And  tlie  Spirit  is  His  Spirit. 

This  is  the  truth,  held  by  the  masses  of  the  people,  but 
ignorantly  branded  as  Arian ;  so  that  two-thirds  or  four- 
fifths  of  every  church  are  Arian.  Poor  lioscelinus  avoiding 
Scylla  fell  upon  Charybdis,  and  being  banished  he  fled  to 
England.  Banished  from  England,  he  found  no  rest.  Jor- 
tin  well  says:  "Difficult  indeed  it  was  both  tor  lloscelinus 
and  his  antagonists  to  steer  between  Tritheism  and  Sabel- 
lianism."    Jor.  iii.  134. 

ALBIGENSES,  PAULICIANS. 

The  Catholics,  by  burning  the  Looks  of  the  Christians 
of  all  other  denominations,  and  calling  them  by  sucli  op- 
probrious names  as  were  prompted  by  hatred,  envy,  a 
learned  preacher,  a  region  of  country,  or  a  council  where 
they  w^ere  condemned;  calling  the  same  people  by  different 
names  in  succeeding  ages,  and  various  localities,  deceive 
the  reader  with  the  false  idea  that  they  are  new  sects 
whicii  are  constantly  originated;  springing  out  of  the 
earth  or  produced   from    nothing.     Their    great    numbers 


442  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

in  the  different  ages  is  not  denied.  If  all  were  Catholics, 
then  these  sects  constantly  arising  must  afford  proof  that 
the  Catholics  were  constantly  apostatizing.  If  they  were 
Christians,  then  the  Christians  existed  in  great  numbers  in 
every  age.     Such  they  were. 

Mosheim  says:  "The  state  of  the  ancient  sects,  and 
particularly  of  the  Nestorians  and  Monopliysites,  who  re- 
sided in  Asia  and  Egypt,  under  the  Mohammedan  govern- 
ment, was  now  much  the  same  as  it  had  been  in  the  pre- 
ceding century.  The  case  of  the  Manicheans  or  Paulicians, 
whom  the  Grecian  emperors  had  banished  from  the  eastern 
provinces  into  Bulgaria  and  Thrace,  was  much  more  un- 
happy on  account  of  the  i^erpetual  conflicts  they  had  to 
sustain  with  the  Greeks,  who  persecuted  and  oppressed 
them  with  much  keenness  and  animosity.  A  number  of 
that  sect  were,  about  the  middle  of  this  century,  settled  in 
Lombardy,Insubria,  and  principally  at  Milan,  and  that  many 
of  them  led  a  wandering  life  in  France,  Germany,  and  other 
countries,  where  they  captivated  the  esteem  and  admiration 
of  the  multitude  by  their  sanctimonious  looks,  and  the  un- 
common air  of  piety,  which  they  put  on  with  much  affec- 
tation. In  Italy  they  were  called  Paterini  and  Cathari,  or 
rather  Gazari,  which  latter  appellation  the  Germans  have 
preserved,  with  a  small  alteration  only,  which  was  proper 
to  adapt  it  to  the  genius  of  their  language.  In  France 
they  were  called  Albigenses,  from  the  town  of  Albi,  and 
Bulgarians  because  they  came  from  Bulgaria,  and  because 
the  head  of  Iheir  sect  resided  in  that  country;  as  also 
Publicans,  which  was  probably  a  corrupt  pronunciation  of 
Paulicians,  and  honi  homines^  or  'good  men,'  with  several 
titles  and  epithets.  We  learn  also  from  the  Code  of  Tou- 
louse, that  the  French  Paulicians,  who  were  called  Albi- 
genses, had  no  bishop  to  consecrate  their  Anciani  (such 
was  the  title  they  gave  to  their  presbyters),  so  that  such 
of  them  as  were  desirous  of  being  placed  in  the  order  of 
presbyters,  were  obliged  to  repair  to  Italy,  in  order  to  their 
being  regularly  installed. 

"That  the  Paulicians  were  called  Albigenses  in  France, 
and  were  a  sect  entirely  distinct  from  the  Waldenses  and 
other  heretics,  appears  evidently  from  the  Codex  Inquisi- 
tionis  Tolosana3.  They  received  this  name  from  a  town  in 
Aquitaine,  called  Albigia  or  Albi,  where  their  errors  were 
condemned  in  a  council  which  met  in  1176.  See  Chatela 
Memoires  de  I'Histoire  de  Languedoc,  p.  305.     It  is,  there- 


ALBIQENSES,   PAULICIANS.  443 

fore,  a  mistake  to  consider  (he  Albigenses  as  a  sect  so 
called  from  Albi's  being  the  place  of  their  birth,  their  re- 
sidence, or  the  seat  ot  their  principal  assembly,  since  that 
name  was  given  them  for  no  other  reason  than  their  having 
been  condemned  in  a  council  holden  in  that  town.  There 
were,  indeed,  several  Paulicians  among  the  various  sects 
of  dissenters  from  the  Church  of  Rome,  that  inhabited  the 
country  about  Albi;  and  it  is  also  true  that  the  title  of  Al- 
bigenses  is  usually  extended  to  all  the  heretics,  of  what- 
ever sect  or  denomination  they  were,  who  dwelt  in  those 
parts. 

"The  learned  Du  Fresne,  in  his  Glossarium  Latin,  medii 
Mvi,  tom.  i.  p.  1338,  has  proved,  in  an  ample  manner,  that 
the  Paulicians  were  called  in  France  Bulgares  ;  that  the 
names  Popolicani  and  Publicani,  that  were  imposed  upon 
these  Manicheans,  were  no  more  than  a  corruption  of  the 
term  Pauliciani,  ill-pronounced.  The  appellation  of  Boni 
Homines,  or  Los  bos  Ilomos,  as  the  Southern  French  spoke 
at  that  time,  was  a  title  which  the  Paulicians  attributed  to 
themselves. 

"The  first  religious  assembly  which  the  Paulicians 
formed  in  Europe,  is  said  to  have  been  discovered  at  Or- 
leans, in  1017,  under  the  reign  of  Hobert.  A  certain  Ital- 
ian lady  is  said  to  have  been  at  the  head  of  this  sect;  its 
principal  members  were  twelve  canons  of  the  cathedral 
of  Orleans,  men  eminently  distinguished  by  their  piety 
and  learning,  among  whom  Lisoius  and  Stephen  held  the 
first  rank;  and  it  was  composed,  in  general,  of  a  consider- 
able number  of  citizens,  who  were  far  from  being  in  the 
meanest  condition.  The  impious  doctrines  professed  by 
these  canons  were  discovered  by  a  certain  priest  named 
Heribert,  and  by  Arifastus,  a  Norman  nobleman;  upon 
which  Robert  assembled  a  council  at  Orleans,  and  em- 
ployed the  most  eilectual  methods  that  he  could  devise  to 
bring  these  heretics  to  a  better  mind.  But  all  his  endeav- 
ors were  to  no  purpose;  this  pernicious  sect  adhered  obsti- 
nately to  its  principles;  and  its  members  wei  e  at  length 
condemned  to  be  burned  alive. 

"It  is  difficult  to  come  to  a  fixed  determination  with 
respect  to  the  character  and  doctrine  of  these  sectaries; 
for,  when  we  examine  matters  attentively,  we  find  that 
even  their  enemies  acknowledged  the  sincerity  of  their 
piety,  that  they  were  blackened  by  accusations  which  were 
evidently  false,  and  that  the  opinions  for  which  they  were 
punished  difier  widelv   from  the  Manichean  system.     In 


444  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

their  philosophical  spsculations  concerning  God,  the  Trin- 
ity, and  the  human  soul,  tliey  soared  above  the  compre- 
hension of  the  age  in  which  they  lived.  A  liice  set  of  men 
proceeded  in  vast  numbers  out  of  Italy  in  tlie  following 
ages,  spread  like  an  inundation  through  all  the  European 
provinces,  and  were  known  in  Germany  under  the  name 
of  the  Brethren  of  the  Free  Spirit,  while  they  were  dis- 
tinguished in  otiier  countries  by  the  appellation  of  Beg- 
haixls."     i.  194,  195. 

How  apparent  is  the  prejudice  and  ill-affected  surprise 
of  the  historian  at  tlie  "vast  numbers,"  the  "inundation," 
etc.  Has  he  not  read  all  the  way  down  the  stream  of 
Bucceeding  ages,  in  every  century,  the  "burning  alive  of 
Paulicians  and  Manicheans?"  Where  did  tliis  constant 
supply  of  fuel  come  from,  but  from  the  masses  of  the 
people  who  were  Bible  Christians;  the  "vast  numbers" 
who,  when  persecuted  and  driven  out  of  their  country, 
"inundated  provinces?''  And  Mosheim  confesses  that  the 
Albigenses  were  the  same  people.  Therefore,  the  Albi- 
genses  did  not  arise  in  the  eleventh  century  ;  but  the  name 
was  given  in  the  eleventh  century  to  Bible  Christians  then 
condemned  in  Southern  France. 

Tlie  infamous  immoralities  of  the  Catholics  of  the  tenth 
century  gave  the  Christians  great  advantage  in  laboring 
for  a  purer  religion.  The  eleventh  century  did  not  im- 
prove the  Catholics  in  morals,  while  it  added  the  infamy 
of  cruelty  on  a  wider  scale,  and  projects  of  extended  am- 
bition. Gregory  VII.  sounded  tlie  alarm  for  the  crusades. 
Teter  the  Hermit  roused  the  nations.  The  council  at  Pla- 
centia  finally  seconded  the  enterprise;  but  says  Haweis: 

"The  profligacy  of  manners  which  prevailed  among 
the  crusaders;  the  rapes,  murders,  plunder  and  desolation, 
that  marked  their  tracks,  were  v/retched  specimens  of  the 
holiness  of  their  purposes;  and  they  who  could  inflict 
such  miseries  on  their  fellow-Christians,  must  have  borne 
against  the  Saracens  a  spirit  as  infuriate  as  the  cause 
which  stimulated  them  was  fanatic,  and  reconcilable  to 
no  laws  of  human  justice."     Haweis,  i.  452. 

A.  D.  1023,  found  Basil  and  Constantine  still  emperors. 
Basil  reigned  fifty  years,  and  died  in  1025.  Constantine 
then  compelled  Romanus  to  marry  Zoe,  his  daughter.     Zoo 


THE    GREEK   SCHISM.  445 

soon  preferred  Michael,  the  money  broker,  and  poisoned 
Romanus,  and  exalted  Michael  IV.  to  the  throne.  She  was 
disappointed.  He  was  ungrateful.  He  was  a  tyrant.  The 
people  dragged  the  husband  from  the  throne,  put  out  his 
eyes,  and  exalted  Zoe  and  her  sister  Theodora  to  independ- 
ence and  the  throne.  But  Zoe,  at  the  age  of  sixty,  desired 
a  husband;  and  "recalled  Constantine  Monomachus  from 
exile,  made  him  emperor,  and  her  third  husband.  Con- 
stantine was  naturally  gay  and  jovial,  fond  of  pleasure  and 
sensual  enjoyments;  the  purple  altered  not  his  idle  mode 
of  life;  so  that  the  government,  instead  of  gaining  strength 
by  his  promotion,  became  more  and  more  languid,  public 
order  more  and  more  neglected.  That  so  general  a  deprav- 
ity of  principle  and  morals,  added  to  the  strong  antipathy 
which  animated  the  Greeks  against  the  Latins,  should  end 
in  schims,  is  no  matter  of  surprise."     Reeves,  p.  303. 

Theodora  nominated  Michael  VI.  for  her  successor.  He 
was  soon  rejected  by  the  commanders.  The  patriarch  ab- 
solved his  subjects,  shaved  the  head  of  Michael,  late 
adorned  with  a  crown,  and  the  emperor  became  a  monl\ 
and  in  1043  was  made  bishop  of  Constantinople ;  and 
"  condeftmed  the  Roman  See  as  guilty  of  heresy." 

A.  D.  1051.  Some  Manicheans  were  discovered  and 
put  to  death.     Jor.  iii.  125. 

A.  D.  1053.   THE  GREEK  SCHISM. 

Gradually,  irom  time  to  time,  those  who  at  first  ad- 
hered to  the  Romans,  when  persecuting  and  anathematiz- 
ing the  Christians,  forsook  them,  to  be  in  turn  anathema- 
tized by  them.     Thus  it  was  in 

A.  D.  381,  the  Macedonians  left  them,  and  were  excom- 
municated; in  430  the  Nestorians;  in  451  the  Eutychians; 
in  680  the  Monothelites;  in  757  the  opposers  of  image 
worship;  in  8G9  the  Greeks,  who  in  1053  became  fully  and 
finally  separated  from  the  Roman  Church. 

Leo  X.  was  now  pope  of  Rome,  and  Michael,  the  Monk, 
bishop  of  Constantinople,  assumed  the  title  of  "universal 
patriarch."     The  pope  sent  three  delegates  to  correct  him. 


446  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

He  was  immovable.     They  excommunicated  him  and  re- 
turned to  Rome. 

The  Roman  historian  says :  "Soon  after  their  departure 
Michael  pul)lished  an  act  of  excommunication  airainst  the 
bishop  of  Rome,  and  the  whole  Latin  Church.  This  passed 
in  the  year  1053.  From  that  epoch  is  dated  the  great 
schism  between  the  Greeks  and  Latins,  which  continues  to 
this  day.  By  denying;  the  procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
from  God  the  Son  as  well  as  from  the  Father,  the  Greeks 
add  the  crime  of  heresy  to  that  of  schism."  So  says  the 
Catholic  heretic.     Reeves,  pp.  304,  488. 

Constantine  XI.  ascended  the  throne  in  1059.  On  his 
death  his  widow,  Eudocia,  reigned,  and  exalted  Romanus 
III.  to  her  bed  and  her  throne.  Romanus  was  taken  pris- 
oner by  the  Saracens.  On  his  release,  linding  his  wife  in 
a  monastery,  and  the  empire  alienated,  he  resigned  the 
imperial  for  an  episcopal  throne,  and  became  archbishop 
of  Ephesus,  and  Nicephorus  III.  began  to  reign, 

A.  D.  1072,  and  was  succeeded  by  Alexius  in  1081,  in 
the  midst  of  the  crusades,  lie  founded  a  hospital.  He 
was  orthodox.  He  burnt  a  heretic  alive  in  the  square  of 
St.  Sophia,  and  dying,  expressed  an  ejaculation  on  the  van- 
ity of  the  world.  Said  the  empress,  "you  die  as  you  have 
lived — a  hypocrite." 

"In  the  days  of  Alexius,  there  were  heretics  called 
Bogomili,  and  supposed  to  be  a  sort  of  Manicheans.  Their 
leader,  called  Basilius,  was  condemned  to  be  burnt,  and 
had  declared  the  fire  would  not  hurt  him.  The  Greeks 
who  carried  him  to  execution,  first  took  off  his  cloak,  and 
flung  it  into  tlie  fire,  to  try  whetiier  it  would  prove  incom- 
bustible. Whilst  it  was  burning,  the  poor  fanatic  cried 
out,  Do  you  not  see  that  my  cloak  is  untouched,  and  car- 
ried away  in  the  air?  Upon  which  tliey  cast  him  also  into 
the  fire,  where  he  was  soon  consumed  to  ashes."  Jortin, 
iii.  132. 

Mosheim  says:  "It  appears  from  many  circumstances, 
that,  if  the  Manicheans  were  exasperated  against  the 
Greeks,  their  resentment  was  in  some  measure  justified  by 
the  violent  and  injurious  treatment  which  they  liad  re- 
ceived from  them.  The  Grecian  pontifi's  and  clergy  were 
far  from  being  destitute  of  the  odious  spirit  of  persecution; 
and  it  is   certain  that  the  emperors,  instigated  by  them, 


THE    GREEK    SCHISM.  447 

had  exhausted  the  patience  of  the  Paulicians  by  repeated 
vexations  and  cruelties,  and  alienated  their  affections  by 
inflicting:  upon  (hem,  without  interruption,  a  variety  of 
punislunents,  such  as  banishment,  confiscation  of  goods, 
and  other  marks  of  severity  and  violence. 

Alexius  Coninenus,  who,  by  his  learning,  was  an  orna- 
ment to  the  imperial  scepter,  perceiving  that  the  Manicheans 
were  not  to  be  vanquished,  without  the  greatest  difficulty,  by 
the  force  of  arms,  and  observing  also  that  their  numbers  in- 
creased from  day  to  day,  both  in  Thrace  and  in  the  adja- 
cent provinces,  had  recourse  to  the  power  of  reason  and 
argument  to  con([uer  their  obstinacy,  and  spent  whole  days 
at  riiilippolis,  in  disputing  with  the  principal  doctors  of 
that  pernicious  sect."     Mosh.  i.  293. 

"That  pernicious  sect."  Thus  the  unjust  Protestant 
historian  calls  those  Christians,  whose  piety  he  acknowl- 
edges, and  whose  persecution  was  unjust,  and  who  with- 
stood bribery,  armjes,  and  loss  of  goods;  giving  martyrs 
in  every  age  to  die  for  Christ. 

Mosheim  proceeds:  "Many  of  tbem  yielded  to  the 
victorious  arguments  of  this  royal  disputant,  and  his  learned 
associates;  nor  is  this  to  be  wondered  at,  since  their  de- 
monstr;itions  were  accompanied  and  enforced  by  rewards 
and  punishments.  Such  of  the  Manicheans  as  retracted 
their  errors,  and  returned  to  the  bosom  of  the  Greek 
Church,  were  loaded  with  gifts,  honors,  and  privileges,  ac- 
cording to  their  respective  stations,  while  such  as  stood 
firm  against  the  reasoning  of  the  emperor,  were  inhumanly 
condemned  to  perpetual  imprisonment."     Mosh.  i.  293. 

A.  D.  1073.  "The  execrable  tyrant,  Hildebrand,  was 
made  pope,  and  called  Gregory  VII.  This  was  the  first 
man  who  subverted  all  the  ancient  privileges  of  kings 
and  princes,  of  councils  and  bishops,  of  clergy  and 
laity;  and  established  the  dominion  of  the  pope,  as  king  of 
kings,  and  lord  of  lords.  Hildebrand  was  a  man  of  an 
high  spirit,  equal  to  the  greatest  undertakings,  intrepid, 
quick  of  tmderstanding  and  judgment;  but  beyond  meas- 
ure proud,  stubborn,  intractable,  vehement,  and  void  of  all 
piety  and  religion,  the  most  haughty  and  audacious  of  all 
the  popes.  The  Koman  Church  worships  him  amongst  the 
patrons  and  intercessors  in  the  court  of  heaven,  although 
he  hath  not  been  canonized  in  due  tbrm.  Paul  V.,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  dedicated  an  holy 
day  to  him  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  May.  But  the  European 
princes,  particularly  the  Emperor  and  the  King  of  France, 


4rl8  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

will  not  permit  him  to  be  enlisted  amongst  the  saints  of 
the  calendar,  and  publicly  worshiped  in  their  dominions. 
In  truth,  this  pontifl"  had  all  the  marks  of  antichrist  upon 
him,  and  his  religion  was  nothing  more  than  grimace.  He 
wrote  a  very  complaisant  letter  to  a  Mohammedan  prince, 
in  which  he  says  to  him,  You  and  we  adore  one  and  the 
same  God,  though  in  a  different  manner.  I  wish  you  ever- 
lasting happiness  in  Abraham's  bosom.  Good!  Great  was 
the  intimacy  and  friendship  between  Gregory  and  the 
Countess  Matilda.  Ihis  foolish  princess  gave  her  domin- 
ions to  the  pope,  and  to  the  See  of  Rome,  which  were  no 
less  than  all  Tuscany,  and  a  great  part  of  Lombardy,  re- 
serving to  herself  only  the  use  and  profits  of  them  during 
her  life."     Jortin,  iii.  129. 

Ilaweis  says:  "In  the  election  of  the  fiend,  Hilde- 
brand,  no  regard  was  paid  to  the  established  order."  And 
again  :  '-The  letters  of  Hildebrand,  or  Gregory,  yet  ex- 
tant, are  monuments  of  the  most  daring  attempts  to  sub- 
jugate to  his  yoke,  and  levy  a  tribute  from  the  dominions 
of  all  the  princes  of  Christendom.  Fear  or  favor  induced 
many  of  them  to  submit,  whilst  others  resisted  the  claims 
of  St.  Peter's  representative.  From  many  thousand  chan- 
nels, the  wealth  of  the  nations  flowed  into  the  Roman  treas- 
ury. The  most  resolute,  however  refractory,  submitted  to 
so  many  pretensions  and  abuses,  that  not  a  kingdom  of  the 
Western  world  but  contributed  to  support  the  ambition, 
and  to  increase  the  immensity  of  the  treasures  of  the  Ro- 
man prelate."     i.  463. 

THE  ALBIGENSES  AN  ANCIENT  PEOPLE. 

Haweis  confesses  that  the  Paidicians,  3Ia7iic7iea7is  B.nd 
Albigenses  were  the  same  people,  and  noted  for  piety  and 
suff'ering.     He  says  : 

"The  Paulicians,  charged  with  Manichean  heresies,  had 
been  banished  into  Bulgaria.  Their  solemn  looks  and  ex- 
emplary behavior  engaged  the  respect  of  many.  They 
bore  a  number  of  appellation?,  Patarini,  Bulgares,  Catliari, 
and  Bons  Hommes,  or  good  men,  for  such  they  certainly 
appeared  to  be.  Whether  the  opinions  imputed  to  them 
be  true  or  not,  it  is  difficult  to  decide,  when  we  consider 
the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the  age,  and  the  enmity 
borne  to  whatever  deserved  the  name  of  Christian.  Cer- 
tain it  is  they  were  bitterly  persecuted;  and  early  in  this 


THE    GREEK    SCHISM.  449 

century  condemned  as  heretics  at  Orleans,  and  burned  for 
their  obstinacy.  A.  D.  1017.  From  the  charges  laid 
against  them,  it  appears,  tliat  revolting  against  the  wor- 
ship of  images,  purgatory,  penance,  relics,  and  all  the  mul- 
titudinous abuses  prevalent  in  the  church,  they  probably 
carried  their  objections  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and 
thought  slightly  of  all  ordinances  and  ministers,  supposed 
all  distinctions  useless  among  the  faithful,  and  sacraments 
unnecessary;  confining  all  their  religion  to  spiritual  wor- 
ship and  a  holy  conversation.  Condemned  afterward,  at  a 
council  held  at  Albi,  they  gained  the  name  of  Albigenses, 
a  term  frequently  given  to  all  reputed  heretics.  A.  D. 
1076.  As  their  enemies  never  produced  a  charge  to  im- 
peach their  gf^nuine  piety,  and  their  patient  and  resolute 
sufferings  speak  forcibly  in  their  favor,  it  is  a  strong  pre- 
sumptive evidence,  that  whatever  errors  they  mny  have 
been  really  chargeable  with  and  to  whatever  blamable 
excess  they  might  have  carried  some  of  their  opinions,  the 
root  of  the  matter  was  in  them ;  and  their  unpardonable 
crimes  were  their  rejecting  the  tyranny  and  fraud  of  a  cor- 
rupt priesthood."     i.  475. 

A.  D.  1094.  Saint  ISTicholas  called  Peregrinus  was  fa- 
mous in  Apulia.  He  was  a  Greek,  born  in  Attica.  His 
parents  were  poor,  and  he  had  not  learned  to  read,  or 
been  bred  to  any  trade.  When  he  was  eight  years  of  age, 
his  mother  sent  him  out  to  take  care  of  the  sheep.  From 
that  time  he  began  to  sing  aloud  Kyrie  eleison,  which  he 
did  night  and  day;  and  this  act  of  devotion  he  peribrmed 
all  his  life  long.  His  mother  not  being  able  to  prevent  him, 
thought  that  he  was  possessed  of  the  devil,  and  carried 
him  to  a  neighboring  monastery,  where  the  monks  shut 
him  up  and  chastised  him,  but  could  not  hinder  him  from 
singing  his  song.  Ho  sulTered  punishment  patiently,  and 
immediately  began  again.  Returning  to  his  mother,  he 
took  a  hatchet  and  a  knife,  and  clambering  up  a  mountain, 
he  cut  branches  of  cedar,  and  made  crosses  of  them,  which 
he  stuck  up  in  high  ways,  and  in  places  inaccessible,  prais- 
ing God  continually.  Upon  this  mountain  he  built  himself 
a  little  hut,  and  dwelt  there  some  time  all  alone,  working 
perpetually.  Then  he  went  to  Lepanto,  where  a  monk 
joined  himself  to  him,  and  never  forsook  him.  They 
29 


450  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

passed  into  Italy,  where  Nicholas  was  taken  sometimes 
for  ail  holy  man,  and  sometimes  for  a  madman.  He  fasted 
everyday  till  evening;  his  food  was  a  little  bread  and 
water,  and  yet  he  did  not  grow  lean.  The  nights  he  usually 
passed  in  prayer,  standing  upright.  He  wore  only  a  short 
vest,  reaching  to  his  knees,  his  head,  legs  and  feet  being 
naked.  In  his  hand  he  carried  a  light  wooden  cross,  and 
a  script  at  his  side  to  receive  the  alms. 

A.  D.  1096.  The  Croisez,  or  pious  pilgrims,  set  out  in 
vast  numbers  for  the  holy  war.  All  were  not  animated 
with  the  same  sort  of  zeal.  Some  went,  because  they 
would  not  leave  their  friends  and  companions;  some,  who 
were  military  men,  because  they  w^ould  not  pass  for  pol- 
troons;  some  through  levity  and  the  love  of  rambling; 
some  who  wore  deeply  in  debt,  that  they  might  escape 
from  their  creditors.  Many  monks  flung  off  the  frock,  and 
took  up  arms,  and  an  army  of  women  accompanied  them, 
dressed  like  men,  and  carrying  on  the  trade  of  prostitutes 

Not  long  after  a  second  host  set  forth,  in  number  200,000 
without  a  commander,  and  without  discipline.  These  pil- 
grims resolved  to  fall  upon  the  Jews,  wdieresoever  they 
found  them,  and  to  destroy  them.  They  did  so,  particular- 
ly at  Cologne,  and  at  Mentz.  At  Spire,  the  Jews  fled  to 
the  royal  palace,  and  there  defended  themselves,  being  as- 
sisted by  the  bishop,  who  afterward  put  some  Christians 
to  death  upon  that  account.  At  Worms,  the  Jews,  pursued 
■by  the  Christians,  repaired  to  the  bishop,  who  refused  to 
protect  them  unless  they  would  receive  baptism.  They 
desired  some  time  to  consider  of  it;  and  entering  into  an 
apartment  in  the  bishop's  house,  whilst  the  Christians 
staid  without,  in  expectation  of  their  answer,  they  all  slew 
themselves. 

The  Jews  at  Treves  saw  the  Croisez  coming  upon  them. 
Some  of  them  took  their  own  children  and  stabbed  them, 
saying  that  it  was  better  to  send  them  thus  to  Abraham's 
bosom,  tlian  to  expose  them  to  the  cruelty  of  the  Chris- 
tians. Some  of  their  women  fled  to  the  river,  and  loading 
'themselves  with  stones,  leaped  into  the  water.     Others, 


DUNSTAN,    BECKET   AND   ANSELM.  451 

taking  their  goods  and  their  children,  retired  to  the  palace, 
which  was  a  sanctuary,  and  the  habitation  of  the  Arch- 
bishop Egilbert:  with  tears  they  besought  his  protection; 
and  he,  laying  hold  on  tiie  occasion,  exhorted  them  to  be 
converted,  promising  them  safety  if  they  would  receive 
baptism.  Their  Rabbin,  Micaiah,  prayed  the  archbishop 
to  instruct  them  in  the  elements  of  the  Christian  faith. 
The  bishop  did  so;  and  then  both  the  Rabbin  and  the 
rest  of  them  professed  Christianity,  and  were  baptized  by 
the  bishop  and  by  his  clergy.  But  Micaiah  alone  per- 
severed in  his  profession :  the  rest  apostatized  a  year  after- 
ward. 

A.  D.  1098.  The  Croisez  took  Antioch,  and  one  of 
their  ecclesiastics  found  there,  by  revelation  as  he  pre- 
tended, the  spear  with  which  Christ  was  pierced.  Some 
lime  after,  some  of  the  Croisez  called  the  genuineness  of 
the  spear  in  question;  and  a  dispute  arising,  Peter  Bar- 
tholomew, for  he  was  the  finder,  oflered  to  justify  himself 
by  the  fiery  trial.  A  large  fire  was  made,  and  he,  holding 
the  spear  in  his  hand,  passed  through  it  unhurt,  as  it  was 
(hought.  But  though  he  had  been  in  good  health  before, 
he  died  a  few  days  after.  Thus  the  credit  of  this  holy 
relic  remained  dubious. 

A.  D.  1099.  The  Croisez  took  Jerusalem  by  storm,  and 
massacred  all  the  Infidels  that  they  found  there,  in  number 
about  20,000.  Immediately  after  this  inhuman  and  bloody 
work,  they  repaired  to  the  holy  sepulcher  with  most  aston- 
ishing zeal  and  devotion. 

ENGLAND DUNSTAN,  BECKET  AND  ANSELM. 

In  the  early  ages,  England  was  called  Britain.  The  in- 
habitants were  untutored,  like  our  aborigines  in  America, 
Then  the  Romans  under  Cesar  subdued  them,  though  they 
fought  bravely  under  Boadicea,  their  queen.  But  discip- 
line finally  prevailed  over  valor,  and  the  people  bowed  to 
their  oppressors.  In  the  days  of  the  apostles,  Christianity 
was  preached  in  Britain,  and  never  became  fully  extiii- 


452  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

guished.  Lncian  was  the  first  Christian  king  in  the  world, 
and  in  Constantine,  Helena  of  Britain  gave  Rome  her  first 
Christian  emperor.  When  the  Roman  Empire  began  to 
decay,  the  Picts,  who  were  natives  who  had  been  driven 
north,  and  the  Scots,  who  came  from  Ireland,  began  to  rav. 
age  the  country  ;  and  Vortigern,  the  king,  invited  the  Saxons 
to  resist  them.  The  Saxons  conquered  the  Picts  and  Scots, 
but  kept  the  country,  and  Vortigern  married  Romena,  the 
Saxon  king's  daughter.  Some  Saxons  called  Angles  com- 
ing over,  were  formed  into  a  kingdom,  and  from  them  the 
country  was  called  England. 

All  these  Pagans  united  in  persecuting  the  true  Chris- 
tians. Ethelbert,  King  of  Kent,  married  Bertha,  a  Catholic 
princess,  the  daughter  of  Caribert,  King  of  Paris,  who 
brought  a  bishop  over  with  her.  In  the  year  600  Ethelbert 
was  apprised  of  the  arrival  of  strangers  in  a  foreign  garb, 
bearing  a  silver  cross  having  the  image  of  Christ,  and 
singing  as  they  marched.  They  were  forty  Benedictine 
monks,  with  Austin  at  their  head,  sent  from  Rome  by  Pope 
Gregory.  The  king  encouraged  his  subjects  to  submit  to 
their  queen's  religion,  and  himself,  and  10,000  were  baptized 
in  one  day.  The  pope  made  Austin  bishop  of  Canterbury, 
and  twelve  other  bishops  were  appointed;  but  they  had 
great  trouble,  for  they  attempted  not  only  to  govern  the 
people,  but  the  kings  also. 

Three  successors  of  these  foreign  bishops  bore  the 
names  at  the  head  of  this  article.  The  first  of  the  three 
was  Dunstan,  A.  D.  961.  He  imagined  that  he  was  king. 
One  day  the  bishop  "burst  into  the  king's  apartment,  and 
with  every  opprobrious  epithet  that  could  be  applied  to 
her  sex,  thrust  the  queen  irom  her  royal  consort,"  This 
caused  the  king  to  accuse  the  bishop  of  defrauding  the 
treasury,  and  to  banish  him.  Bat  the  party  of  Dunstan, 
and  "the  Archbishop  Odo  took  a  party  of  soldiers,  and 
seized  the  queen,  and  burned  her  face  with  a  hot  iron,"  to 
disfigure  her  face,  for  she  was  very  beautiful,  and  then  car- 
ried her  off  to  Ireland.  The  unhappy  Elgira  attempted  to 
return  to  seek  her  husband,  King  Edwy,  but  "  was  seized," 


DUNSTAN,  BECKET  AND  ANSELM.  453 

Bays  the  historian,  "by  (he  infernal  Odo,  who,  with  the 
malice  of  a  demon,  caused  her  to  be  hamstrung,  of  which 
she  died  a  few  days  after,"  in  the  sharpest  torments.  The 
wicked  Dunstan  returned  to  England  and  excommunicated 
the  king;  and  encouraged  his  brother  to  seize  the  crown, 
while  he  pursued  Edwy  with  unceasing  vengeance.  Kob- 
inson's  Hist.  Eng.,  p.  26. 

Edgar,  the  new  king,  seized  a  nun  and  lived  with  hei*; 
Dunstan  was  very  gentle  with  him,  only  requiring  him  to 
abstain  h"om  wearing  his  crown,  though  she  continued  to 
be  his  mistress.  Rome  canonized  Dunstan,  who  is  now  St. 
Dunstan.     Reeves,  281. 

A.  D.  1093.  The  second  of  these  three  was  Anselm. 
Kinir  William  Rufus  made  him  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
but  soon  quarreled  with  him  and  Anselm  went  to  Rome. 
King  Henry  recalled  him  in  1100.  He  soon  quarreled 
with  him  again,  and  again  he  went  to  consult  the  pope. 
He  was  a  man  of  learning  and  piety  we  hope ;  but  he  had 
the  prevailing  disposition  to  govern  and  subject  all  to 
Rome.  He  is  now  St.  Anselm.  Anselm  represents  the 
best  class  of  the  Roman-English  bishops.  He  was  the  inven- 
tor of  the  argument,  erroneously  attributed  to  Descartes, 
which  demonstrates  the  existence  of  God  from  the  idea  of 
an  infinitely  perfect  Being  naturally  implanted  in  the  mind 
of  man,  and  found  in  every  mortal.  His  spiritual  ambi- 
tion justly  exposed  him  to  censure.  His  works  begin 
with  a  discourse  concerning  the  existence  of  God,  the  Di- 
vine Attributes,  and  the  Trinity.  This  discourse  is  called 
Monologia,  because  it  is  drawn  up  in  the  form  of  a  solilo- 
quy. They  are  upon  such  subjects  as  The  Fall  of  Satan, 
Why  God  Created  Man,  Original  Sin,  Its  Communication 
to  Adam's  Posterity,  the  Liberty  of  the  Will,  and  the  Con- 
sistency of  Freedom  with  the  Divine  Prescience.  The  sec- 
ond and  third  parts  consists  of  Homilies,  Poems,  Prayers? 
and  Letters.     Mosh.  i.  261. 

He  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  clergy  by  the  cen- 
sures of  such  churchmen  as  kept  concubines.    Reeves,  324. 

A.  D.  1162.     The  third  of  the  three  was  Thomas  a  Becket. 


454  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

He  was  an  Englishman,  and  the  first  Englishman  who  was 
made  archbishop  of  Canterbury.  He  made  a  great  show 
of  austerity,  but  withstood  the  king,  and  opposed  the  laws, 
and  would  not  suffer  the  priests  to  be  punished  for  their 
crimes  by  the  civil  power.  King  Henry  called  a  council,  and 
Becket,  who  now  assumed  great  pomp,  alone  refused  to  obey 
the  king;  he  finally  consented  and  took  his  oath  to  comply; 
but  as  soon  as  the  pope  decided  against  the  king,  Becket  re- 
nounced his  oath.  Becket  was  charged  with  embezzling 
44,000  marks,  and  left  England  to  join  the  pope.  Then 
they  excommunicated  the  ministers  of  King  Henry,  and 
threatened  the  king.  Finally  he  was  restored  and  the  king 
held  his  stirrup  to  prove  his  desire  for  peace.  Becket  next 
excommunicated  several  bishops  who  were  friendly  to  the 
king,  when  the  king,  in  impatience,  expressed  a  desire  to 
be  rid  of  him.  Some  noblemen  immediately  left.  The 
king  sent  word  after  them  not  to  injure  the  archbishop, 
but  the  orders  were  too  late.  The  proud  primate  was  slain. 
Then  new  debates  arose  between  the  king  and  the  pope, 
and  the  disaff"ection  of  the  Catholics  was  such  that  the 
king  was  brought  to  do  severe  penance.  Hume,  i.  294. 
Mosh.  i.  31 4. 

The  humbled  king  walked  barefoot  to  the  grave  of  Beck- 
et, fasted  by  it  all  day,  watched  by  it  all  night,  then  bared 
his  back  and  permitted  the  monks  to  scourge  him.  Tho 
bishop  was  canonized  and  is  now  St,  Thomas.     Rob.  54. 

These  three  represent  the  general  character  of  the  En- 
glish bishops  of  the  middle  ages,  both  for  good  and  for 
bad ;  as  well  as  in  the  trouble  they  had  with  the  kings.  All 
the  time  during  these  ages  the  English  ministers  lived 
with  their  wives.  The  Roman  calls  them  concubines,  and 
piously  says  that  Anselm  censured  "  all  such  churchmen 
as  kept  their  conculines^''  which  gives  a  fair  insight  into 
the  religion  that  was  satisfied  with  "censuring"  its  priests 
who  "kept,"  without  putting  away,  their  coucubires 
Reeves,  p.  321. 


TWELFTH   CENTURY.  455 


TWELFTH   CENTURY. 

A.  D.  1118.  Alexis  was  succeeded  by  Colo  Joannes 
(John  the  Handsome),  who  died  from  the  effects  of  a  pois- 
oned arrow  which  dropped  from  his  own  quiver;  and  Man- 
uel, his  son,  of  astonishing  courage  and  strength,  ascended 
the  throne  in  1143,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Alexius 
II.,  in  1160.  He  was  forced  to  associate  with  him  the  base 
and  great  Adronicus,  who  soon  caused  him  to  be  strangled. 

A.  D.  1183.  Adronicus  I,  was  sole  emperor  and  tyrant. 
In  his  absence  from  Constantinople,  Isaac  II.  was  exalted  to 
the  throne.  Adronicus,  in  irons,  was  led  in  before  Isaac, 
by  a  chain  from  his  neck,  and  delivered  to  those  whom  he 
had  wronged.  His  hair,  teeth,  eyes,  and  hands  were  torn 
away.  He  was  hung  by  the  feet,  and  every  hand  sought 
to  inflict  pain.  In  mercy  he  was  finally  thrust  through. 
All  these  were  Catholics,  religious,  devout,  sensual,  cruel 
and  wicked. 

Abelard  set  the  whole  Catholic  Church  in  an  uproar. 
He  was  charged  with  teaching  that  the  names  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost  were  terms  used  to  express  the  fullness  of 
the  sovereign  good.  The  Father  was  the  plenitude  of 
power,  the  Son  a  power,  the  Holy  Ghost  the  soul  of  the 
world,  with  other  crude  fancies  and  some  bold  truths. 
Abelard  was  a  man  of  true  genius,  and  worthy  of  a  better 
fate  and  of  a  more  enlightened  age.  After  passing  through 
the  furnace  of  persecution,  he  retired  to  a  monastery. 

THE    WALDENSES    AND   ALBIGENSES. 

Mosheimsays:  "The  Latins  comprehended  all  the  ad- 
versaries of  the  Roman  pontift*  under  the  general  terms  of 
Waldenses  and  Albigenses."     i.  328. 

Basilius,  who  was  burned  by  Alexius,  had  his  brethren, 
or  followers,  who  were  noted  for  prayer.  These  are  the 
same  with  those  of  whom  Maclaine  says  Massalians  and 
Euchites  signify  the  same  thing,  one  in  Hebrew  and  the 
other  in  Greek,  viz:  persons  who  pray,  A  sect,  under 
this  denomination,  arose  in  301,  and  held  many  of   the 


456 


CHURCH   mSTORT, 


doctrines  attributed  by  Mosheim  to  the  Massalians  of  the 
twelfth  century.  Epiplianius  speaks  of  Massalians  still 
more  ancient,  who  acknowledged  several  gods,  yet  adored 
only  one,  whom  they  called  the  Almighty.  Mosheim  says 
the  accounts  given  are  not  to  be  depended  upon.  Many 
persons  of  piety,  and  zeal  for  genuine  Christianity,  were 
confounded  with  these  enthusiasts  on  account  of  their  op- 
posing the  vicious  practices  and  insolent  tyranny  of  the 
priesthood.  "The  Latins  comprehended  all,  under  the 
name  of  Waldenses  and  Albigenses."  See  above,  Mosh.  i.  328- 
A.  D.  114T.  Henry,  of  Toulouse,  preached  with  such 
effect,  that  the  Catholics  called  those  who  sustained  him 
Henricans.  iSoon  after  Peter  Waldo,  of  Lyons,  was  the 
instrument  of  good,  and  they  called  the  peojile  from  him 
Waldenses.  Still  all  these  remained  in  communion  with 
the  Catholics,  only  objecting  to  some  corruptions. 

1.  They  held  that  holy  oil  is  not  to  be  mingled  in  bap- 
tism. 

2.  That  prayers  used  over  things  inanimate  are  super- 
stitious. 

3.  Flesh  may  be  eaten  in  Lent;  the  clergy  may  marry; 
and  auricular  confession  is  unnecessary. 

4.  Confirmation  is  no  sacrament;  we  are  not  bound  to 
pay  obedience  to  the  pope;  ministers  should  live  upon 
tithes;  no  dignity  sets  one  clergyman  above  another,  for 
their  superiority  can  only  be  drawn  from  real  worth. 

5.  Lnages  in  churches  are  absurd;  image  worship  is 
idolatry;  the  pope's  indulgences  ridiculous ;  and  the  mir- 
acles pretended  to  be  done  by  the  Church  of  Rome  are 
false. 

6.  Fornication  and  public  stews  ought  not  to  be  allowed; 
purgatory  is  a  fiction;  and  deceased  persons,  called  saints, 
ought  not  to  be  prayed  to. 

7.  Extreme  unction  is  not  a  sacrament;  and  masses,  in- 
dulgences and  prayers  are  of  no  service  to  the  dead. 

8.  The  Lord's  Prayer  ought  to  be  the  rule  of  all  other 
prayers. 

To  subdue  these  refractory  Catholics,  in  the  beginning 


TWELFTH    CENTURY.  457 

of  the  twelfth  century  Pope  Innocent  111.  authorized 
monks  to  find  and  deliver  them  over  to  the  secular  power. 
The  monks,  upon  the  least  information,  delivered  tliem  to 
the  magistrate,  who  delivered  them  to  the  executioner;  for 
the  process  was  short,  as  accusation  supplied  the  place 
of  evidence,  and  a  fair  trial  was  never  granted  to  the  ac- 
cused. 

The  Albigenses  were  so-called  from  the  country  of  Albi. 
They  had  never  been  Catholics.  Some  were  hanged,  some 
beheaded,  and  some  burnt,  both  in  France  and  Italy,  by 
the  Catholics.  Jortin  says:  "Can  Protestants  enter  into 
alliance  and  communion  with  such  a  generation  of  vipers  ? ' 
Jortin,  iii.  292-301. 

Waddington  says :  "  In  1017,  at  a  Synod  held  at  Orleans 
a  number  of  persons,  of  no  mean  condition  or  character 
were  accused  of  heretical  opinions.  They  are  charged 
with  denying  the  efficacy  of  baptism  and  transubstantia- 
tion,  and  the  merit  of  prayers  to  martyrs."  "They  had 
some  philosophical  speculations  respecting  the  Trinity  and 
the  soul."  "They  were  convicted  of  heresy,  and  consigned 
to  the  flames." 

A.  D.  11G3.  The  pope  speaks:  "  Whereas  a  damnable 
heresy  lias  for  some  time  lifted  its  head  in  parts  about 
Toulouse,  let  no  man  afford  them  a  refuge  on  his  estates  ; 
neither  let  there  be  any  communication  with  them  in 
buying  or  selling."  He  calls  them  Cathari,  Paterini.Paul- 
iconi,  and  forbids  them  Christian  burial ;  and  exhorts 
the  bishops  to  "gird  themselves  for  the  work  of  extirpation, 
and  to  employ  the  arms  of  the  princes  and  of  the  people." 
That  meant,  murder  them.    Wad.  pp.  291,  292. 

A.  D.  1181.  The  pope's  legale  marched  with  a  great 
army  against  the  Albigenses,  whom  he  called  Manicheans. 
Several  noblemen  desiring  to  protect  the  Albigenses,  who 
were  their  subjects  and  of  blameless  life,  the  pope  sent 
throughout  all  Europe  for  recruits,  to  all  of  whom  he 
granted  indulgence.  Heretics  discovered  at  Orleans  were 
"burnt  on  the  spot."  But  they  were  more  numerous  in 
the   nighborhood   of  Toulouse  and  Lyons.     The    Pyrenees 


458  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Mountains  had  often  afforded  them  protection,  and  the 
Roman  priests  had  never  possessed  the  country.  The  pope 
excommunicated  the  Earl  of  Toulouse,  and  absolved  his 
subjects  from  their  oaths  of  allegiance,  and  commanded 
all  to  seize  his  lands,  destroy  his  property,  slay  those  who 
adhered  to  bim,  and  pursue  his  person.  A  friar  had  been 
killed  in  his  dominions,  and  this  formed  a  pretext  for  a 
general  slaughter. 

A.  D.  1198.  Tope  Innocent  III.  wrote  to  King  Philip  to 
make  war  on  the  Albigenses,  and  also  sent  crusades  against 
all  Cathari,  Paterini,  Albigenses,  and  others,  all  of  them 
Manicheans.     Jor.  iii.  292. 

While  the  war  lingered,  many  of  them  were  brought 
to  trial.  The  prelate  who  sat  in  judgment  on  them  laid 
down  the  orthodox  doctrine  which  has  ever  been  distorted 
into  bigotry,  with  the  brand  of  murder  and  blood  upon  it. 
The  poor  souls  replied  with  heavenly  courage,  "You  may 
tell  such  tales  to  those  whose  wisdom  is  of  this  world,  who 
believe  the  fictions  of  carnal  men.  But  to  us  who  have 
the  law  inscribed  on  the  inward  man  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  wisdom  which  we  have  learnt  from  God,  you  preach 
vanities,  deviating  from  real  holiness.  Cease  your  discourse- 
Do  what  you  will  with  us.  Alread}'^  we  behold  the  King 
who  exalts  us  with  his  own  right  hand  to  immortal  triumphs 
and  joys  above."  We  should  recollect  that  this  account 
(like  almost  every  other  in  which  any  heretical  opinions 
are  described)  comes  to  us  from  the  pen  of  an  enemy^ 
"They  were  consigned  to  the  flames."  The  earl,  conscious 
of  innocence,  appealed  to  the  pope.  lie  requested  that 
they  would  accei>t  his  person  as  a  pledge,  and  not  plun. 
der  or  destroy  the  innocent  people.  The  earl  surren- 
dered his  person.  The  legate  said  he  was  glad  that  the 
earl  had  surrendered,  but  he  could  not  disappoint  his 
troops ;  but  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  seven  armed 
castles.  The  earl  now  saw  his  error  in  trusting  himself  to 
them,  but  it  was  too  late.  The  legate  garrisoned  the  cas- 
tles, and  then  sent  for  the  governors  and  told  them  they 
were  nowthe  pope's  subjects.     The  governors  were  aston* 


TWELFTH    CENTURY.  459 

ished  to  see  the  earl.  He  was  stripped  nearly  naked,  and 
cruelly  scourged;  then  heavily  loaded  with  chains,  he  was 
led  round  the  grave  of  the  dead  friar;  then  compelled 
to  swear  to  make  war  on  the  Albigenses,  and  bear  alle- 
giance to  the  pope.  The  army  took  Bezieres;  "kill  them, 
kill  them,"  cried  the  legate.  The  streets  ran  with  blood. 
One  groan  seemed  to  go  up  from  a  dying  people.  Still  some 
secreted  themselves.  The  houses  were  fired,  and  these 
had  the  choice  to  perish  in  the  flames,  or  have  their  throats 
cut.  "  Sixty  thousand  perished,"  and  the  slaughter  went 
on  everywhere  in  all  the  surrounding  country.  The 
Christians,  driven  to  desperation,  everywhere  took  up 
arms;  but  the  (Catholics  were  too  strong.  It  was  a  crusade 
of  savages.  The  King  of  Aragon  interposed  but  was  de- 
feated, and  on  the  promise  of  mercy,  the  city  of  Tou- 
louse was  surrendered.  But  the  Catholics  plundered  all 
the  peoj)le  and  dismantled  the  city.  The  Earl  of  Toulouse 
having  returned,  Toulouse  was  recovered.  The  French 
prince  failing  to  retake  it  after  nine  months'  siege,  took 
Mii'omand  and  put  all  to  the  sword,  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren (five  thousand).  The  Earl  of  Toulouse,  hearing  of 
the  great  preparations  of  the  King  of  France,  sent  the 
cattle  and  the  women  and  children  to  the  mountains,  and 
plowed  up  the  land.  The  Catholic  king  came  with  a 
large  army,  but  was  reduced  by  famine  and  died  of  grief 
His  son  was  repeatedly  defeated;  but  a  larger  army  suc- 
ceeded; thousands  were  slaughtered,  and  the  remnant 
were  compelled  to  become  Catholics,  and  were  prohibited 
from  reading  the  Scriptures.  But  why  go  on?  The  recital 
is  too  dreadful.  The  Inquisition  was  permanently  estab- 
lished at  Toulouse  in  1228,  and  the  reader  can  judge  of 
the  rest.     Book  of  Martyrs,  101.     Waddington,  291,  293. 

"A.  D.  1160.  Some  foreign  heretics  were  found  in 
England  condemned  by  the  bishops.  Then  they  were 
beaten  with  sticks,  scourged,  burnt  in  the  face,  and  turned 
adrilt;  and  no  person  being  permitted  to  lodge  or  to  feed 
them,  they  all  perished  with  cold  and  hunger.  To  have 
hanged  them  would  have  been  mercy  compared  to  such 
usage."     Jortin,  iii.  234. 


400  CHURCH  HisTonr. 

"A.  D.  1169.  Some  Manicheans  were  burnt  in  Burgun- 
dy."    Jor.  iii.  235. 

The  Nestorians  existed  among  tlie  Huns,  Bactrians, 
Indians,  Parsarmenians,  Medes,  Elamites,  and  were  almost 
universal  irom  the  Persian  Gulf  to  the  Caspian  Sea.  On 
the  coast  of  Africa  and  in  the  interior  of  Cliinn,  they 
were  surpassed  by  the  Catholics  in  political  power  but 
not  in  labor-suffering.  The  Catholic  monk  or  priest,  with 
the  secular  support  of  Constantinople  or  Rome,  was  ever 
upon  their  trade  to  hunt  them  down  and  destroy  tliem. 
The  adherents  of  the  Monophysite  faith  or  one  will  in 
Christ,  the  Jacobites  of  the  East,  the  disciples  of  St.  James, 
fell  before  the  Catholic  Melchites  or  Royalists,  The  elo- 
quent Xenaias  was  sullbcated  by  the  Melchites.  Fifty-four 
bishops  were  swept  from  their  thrones.  Ei^ht  hundred 
ecclesiastics  were  cast  into  prison,  and  the  flocks  left  to 
the  mercy  of  the  Romish  priests  (432).  The  Armenians 
maintained  one  nature  or  being  in  Christ  They  fled  in 
every  direction  from  the  Roman  persecutors,  and  sought 
shelter  with  every  enemy  of  Rome.  They  flourished  alone 
in  the  East,  and  their  principal  church  and  bishop  is  lo- 
cated on  the  highway  between  Ipshan  and  Constantinople, 
at  Ekmiasin,  near  Erivan. 

The  Abyssinians  of  Africa  but  branded  the  Catholics  as 
Arians,  and  charged  them  with  holding  "four  Gods" — the 
three  persons  of  the  Trinity,  and  the  humanity,  including 
the  full  personality,  of  a  man,  as  the  fourtli.  (Gibbon,  iv. 
444.)     If  Christ  be  two  persons  there  must  be  lour. 

A.  D.  1179.  At  the  Council  of  Lateran,  the  pope  con- 
demned as  heretical  this  proposition  of  Peter  Lombard: 
Jesus  Christ,  considered  as  a  man,  is  not  anything,  or  some- 
thing.    Nonsense  is  not  heresy. 

A.  D,  1185,  We  left  Isaac  II,  on  the  throne.  We  must 
note  the  progress  of  the  doomed  empire  to  its  fall,  and 
return  to  the  West,  where  spiritual  wickedness  in  liigh 
places  wielded  its  forked  scepter. 

The  conquest  of  the  Western  empire  by  Charlemagne, 
under  the  influence  of  the  popes,  was  quickly  followed  by 


TUIRTEENTII    CKNTURY.  •  461 

a  separation  in  the  State  Church.  East  and  West  the  rul- 
ing party  had  united  in  persecuting  those  who  rejected 
theNicene  Creed  ;  but  they  could  not  agree  on  the  Trinity. 
The  Greeks  suppose  that  the  Spirit  proceeds  from  the 
Father  alone.  This  involves  both  Catholics  and  Protestants 
in  heresy.  The  Catholics  forbade  marriage  to  the  priests — 
tlie  Greeks  forbade  it  only  to  the  bishops ;  and  these  were 
sufficient  reasons  for  the  Greek  and  Latin  churches  to  an- 
athematize each  other. 

Isaac,  the  emperor,  slept  on  the  throne  till  his  brothers, 
in  1195,  assumed  the  purple,  and  deprived  the  emperor  of 
his  eyes.  His  son  Alexis  (the  son  of  Isaac  II.)  escaped  by 
stratagem,  joined  the  crusaders,  and  sold  his  country  by 
engaging  the  French  and  Venetians  to  restore  his  father. 
The  usurper  was  overthrown  and  blind  Isaac  was  restored, 
but  the  empire  was  ruined  by  this  foreign  intervention. 
In  the  bargain  young  Alexis  submitted  his  country  to  the 
pope,  and  involved  it  in  the  expense  of  the  war.  A  per 
fidious  noble  strangled  the  young  prince,  and  seized  the 
throne,  when  the  allies  returned  and  Constantinople  was 
taken  by  storm.  ' 

Assassins.  Hacen,  the  chief  of  the  Mohammedan 
tribe  of  Carmatians,  on  receiving  a  threatening  message 
from  the  sultan,  in  1090,  commanded  one  of  his  attendants 
to  throw  himself  from  a  high  tower;  he  obeyed,  and  died. 
To  another  he  said,  "Slay  thyself;"  and  he  obe3^ed.  "Tell 
your  master,"  said  Hacen  {the,  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain)^ 
"that  I  have  70,000  ready  to  do  the  same."  The  business 
of  the  Carmatians  was  to  murder.  They  were  called  Ilas- 
sissins,  which  we  have  changed  to  Assassins. 

"A,  D,  1199,  Some  heretics  were  hanged,  some  be- 
headed, and  some  burnt  in  Italy,"     Jortin. 

THIRTEENTH    CENTURY. 

The  Emperor  Baldwin  I.,  in  1205,  saw  his  empire  divid- 
ed between  the  Latins,  French,  and  Venetians.  In  a  war 
with  the  Farthians  he  was  captured,  and  died  in  prison. 


462  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

A.  D.  1208.  His  brollier  succeeded  him  and  ijoverned 
the  remnant  of  the  empire  with  g:reat  ability  till  his  death. 

A.  D.  J 215.  June  19.  King  John  of  Enghxnd  with 
seeming  willingness,  signed  and  sealed  the  deed  which 
was  required  of  him.  It  is  the  famous  deed  of  Magna 
Charta,  which  either  grants  or  secures  important  privileges 
to  every  order  of  men  in  England,  to  the  clerg}^,  to  the 
nobility,  and  the  people. 

Prester  John,  of  the  Armenian  Church,  acted  the  part 
of  a  bishop  so  well,  that  in  the  revolutions  of  Asiatic  Tar- 
tary,  he  invaded  the  kingdom  on  the  death  of  Kenkhan, 
and  seized  the  throne.  He  reigned  in  triumph.  His 
throne  afforded  a  shelter  for  the  Christians.  Many  fabu- 
lous stories  describe  his  kingdom  as  au  earthly  paradise. 
He  left  his  kingdom  to  David,  his  son,  who  was  overthrown 
and  slain  by  Grenghis  Khan.     On  the  death  of  Henry, 

A.  D.  1217,  Peter  of  Courtney,  who  had  before  led  a 
murderous  crusade  against  the  Albejois,  .was  placed  upon 
the  throne  by  the  Latins ;  but  was  soon  captured  in  the 
mountains  of  Epirus  and  perished  in  prison.     And, 

A.  D.  1221,  Robert,  son  of  Peter  of  Courtney,  suc- 
ceeded his  father  as  emperor.  His  gallantries  brought 
him  into  trouble.  The  cause  of  the  Christians  in  the  East 
daily  declined  before  Mohanmied,  and  in  the  West  sunk 
in  moral  darkness  and  sanguinary  cruelty  under  the  pope. 
The  true  church  was  the  light  of  the  age.  The  precious 
disciples  were  the  salt  of  the  earth  and  the  hope  of  the 
world. 

Pope  Innocent  III.  decided  that  the  water  in  wine  is 
also  changed  to  blood. 

A.  D.  1230.  The  Prussians  were  compelled  to  become 
Catholics  after  fifty-three  years  of  slaughter. 

Better  Christians.  "The  Croisez  went  to  succor  the 
ancient  Christians,  Syrians,  Armenians,  and  others,  who  all 
had  their  own  bishops  established  by  a  long  succession-, 
yet  in  our  histories  I  find  little  mention  made  of  these 
poor  Christians  and  of  their  bishops,  except  the  complaints 
which  they  made  of  being  ill  used  by  the  Latins.  Thus 
under  the  pretense  of  delivering  them  from  the  Moham- 


THIRTEENTH    CENTURY.  463 

medans,  they  only  laid  them  under  a  new  slavery."     Jor. 
iii.  345. 

A.  D.  1259.  Michael  Palseologus  founded  a  new  dynasty 
and  the  Greeks  recovered  Constantinople.  Palseologus 
put  out  the  ej^es  of  the  young  enij^eror  John,  by  destroy- 
ing the  nerve  with  the  glare  of  a  red-hot  iron.  In  1273 
Pah'Eologus  shared  the  throne  with  Adronicus,  his  son.  the 
most  virtuous  and  learned  prince  of  the  age.  He  next 
shared  the  imperial  purple  with  Ids  son  Michael,  whose 
beautiful  son  Adronicus  was  named  after  liis  grand- 
father. Then  the  triad,  son,  father,  and  grandfather  in- 
volved the  country  in  a  seven  years'  civil  war.  The  youn- 
ger Adronicus  was  succeeded  by  his  son  John  Palteologus 
under  the  guardianship  of  John  Cantacuzenus,v.'ho  assumed 
the  purple  in  1341,  involving  a  war  and  the  abdication  of 
John. 

*  A.  D.  1300.  Gerard  Sagerelli  was  committed  to  the 
flames  in  Parma.  His  offense  was  that  his  people  went 
from  place  to  place  as  the  apostles  did,  and  were  clothed 
in  white,  with  long  beards,  disheveled  hair,  and  bare  heads. 
Both  sexes  traveled  and  renounced  all  property,  and 
preached  repentance,  and  declared  the  destruction  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  the  establishment  of  a  purer  service, 
and  a  more  glorious  church.     Mosh.  i.  380. 

Mosheim,  in  speaking  of  the  Paulicians,  Manicheans 
Albigenses  or  Arians — for  they  were  various  names  for 
Christian  dissenters — says:  '"We  find  in  history  another 
branch  of  this  most  numerous  sect.  They  maintained  that 
religion  consisted  in  practical  piety,  conformable  to  the 
divine  laws;  and  treated  external  modes  of  worship  with 
contempt.  1.  They  considered  the  baptism  of  infants  as 
in  no  respect  essential  to  salvation.  2.  They  rejected  the 
Lord's  (Supper  as  a  sacrament.  3.  They  denied  that  the 
churches  were  endowed  with  greater  sanctity  than  private 
houses.  4.  The  altars  were,  they  considered,  unworthy  of 
veneration.  5.  They  disapproved  the  use  of  incense  and 
oil.  6.  They  looked  upon  the  use  of  bells  in  churches  as 
superstition.     1.  They  denied  that  the  Catholic  ministry 


464  ciiUROii  HISTORY. 

was  of  divine  institution.  8.  Tliey  affirmed  that  it  was  a 
matter  of  indifference  whether  the  dead  were  buried  in 
the  churches  or  in  the  fields.  9.  Tliey  looked  upon  pen- 
ance as  absurd.  10.  They  denied  that  the  sins  of  departed 
spirits  could  be  atoned  for  by  masses,  alms,  or  penance 
and  they  treated  the  doctrine  of  purgatory  as  a  ridiculous 
fiible.  11.  They  held  celibacy  superior  to  marriage.  12- 
They  held  that  the  bodies  of  the  saints,  who  had  not  suf- 
fered death  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  were  not  more  sacred 
than  any  other  human  body,  13.  They  declared  instru- 
mental music  in  churches  unlawful.  14.  They  denied  that 
the  cross  on  which  Christ  suffered  was  in  any  respect  more 
sacred  than  any  other  kinds  of  wood,  and  refused  to  pay 
to  it  religious  worship.  15.  They  refused  all  acts  of  wor- 
ship to  the  images  of  Christ,"  etc.,  etc.     i.  296. 

A.  D.  1250.  "We  now  read  of  the  first  university.  It 
was  located  at  Paris,  and  embraced  four  colleges,  where  a 
full  course  of  education  included  all  the  sciences.  Tiie 
first  Divinity  School  was  erected  and  endowed  by  Robert 
de  Sorborne. 

There  was  evidently  a  revival  of  learning,  and  England 
had  her  share.  In  1278  lioger  Bacon  was  king  of  the  re- 
public of  letters,  and  an  ornament  to  the  English  people. 
His  discoveries  illuminated  astronomj'-,  gave  power  to 
chemistry,  light  to  optics,  and  breadth  to  mathematics. 
He  proposed  the  corrected  calendar  adopted  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  He  discovered,  or  described,  gunpowder. 
The  poor  pope-ridden  Catholics  called  him  a  magician;  but 
his  knowledge  of  Greek  and  the  Oriental  languages,  and 
philosophy,  secured  him  the  title  of  "The  Wondeuful  Doc- 
tor." Bacon  did  well  to  escape  with  his  life.  He  lan- 
guished many  years  in  jail.  Tlie  bodies  of  Arnoldus  and 
Petrus  de  Albano,  two  other  men  of  learning,  were  con- 
demned by  the  Inquisition  after  their  death,  and  burnt. 

A.  D.  1290.  A  Jew  stole  the  host  (the  consecrated 
bread)  and  stabbed  it,  and  cast  it  into  the  fire;  but  "it 
wrought  so  many  miracles,"  says  Fleury,  "  that  the  poor 
devil  was  discovered  and  was  burnt  alive." 


FOURTEENTH  CENTURY.  465 

DAWN  OF  DAY. 

AGE   OF   APPROACHING   LIGHT. 

The  Clmrcli  existed  before  sects,  and  faith  before  creeds, 
therefore  they  may  exist  without  them.  Religious  free- 
dom is  a  heavenly  inheritance.  Every  man  slain,  to  force 
upon  him  an  obnoxious  creed,  is  murdered,  and  every  drop 
of  christian  blood  cries  from  the  ground  against  the  i)er- 
secutors.  The  inquisition,  sword,  spear  and  fagot  are  at 
work,  but  guided  by  the  torch  of  truth  we  press  on  amid 
tortures,  prayers  and  groans.     Light  will  soon  apj)ear. 

FOURTEENTH  CENTURY. 

A.  D.  1306.  Philip  of  France  seized  the  Jews,  stripped 
them  of  their  effects,  and  sent  them  into  banishment. 

A.  D.  1307.  All  the  Knights  Templar  in  France  were 
seized.  "No  fewer  than  fifty-four  were  burnt  alive  at  one 
time  before  the  gate  of  St.  Antony  in  Paris."     p.  404. 

These  were  all  Catholics  burning  each  other  alive. 

A.  D.  1308.  In  Lombardy,  persons  who  called  them- 
selves Apostolical,  and  were  bitter  enemies  to  the  Church; 
of  Rome,  were  destroyed  by  a  bishop,  who  headed  an  army, 

Jortin  says:  "The  Emperor  Henry  VII.  was  poisoned 
in  the  host  by  a  monk,  who  was  suborned  by  Pope  Clement 
V.  An  Arian  princess  had  been  taken  oil"  in  the  same 
manner."     iii.  370. 

A.  D.  1314.  The  Grand  Master  of  the  Knights  Templar,, 
being  burnt  alive,  cited  the  king  and  pope  to  appear  before 
the  tribunal  of  God.     Reeves,  409. 

A.  D.  1355.  Palasologus  acknowledged  the  pope  and 
kissed  his  feet.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Manuel,  who 
resigned  the  throne  to  his  son,  John  Palosologus  H. 

A.  D.  1385.  Reeves  states  the  doctrines  of  WickliiT  as 
follows: 

"The  doctrines  advanced  by  Wickliff  are,  that  a  bishop 
or  priest  in  mortal  sin  can  not  ordain,  consecrate,  or  bap- 
30 


4G6  CHURCH     HISTORY-, 

tize;lhat  the  substance  of  the  bread  and  wine  remains  in 
the  sacrament  alter  consecration,  and  that  Christ  is  not 
really  present  therein ;  that  there  is  no  foundation  in  the 
gos[)el  to  believe  that  Christ  instituted  the  mass;  that  the 
pope,  if  he  be  a  wicked  man,  has  no  authority  over  the 
laithrul,  and  has  no  commission  butfroui  the  emperor;  that 
the  clergy  ought  to  have  no  temporal  possessions;  that 
auricular  confession,  in  fine,  is  superlluous  and  unnecessary. 
Wickliif  owed  his  escape  to  the  strength  of  his  party,  for 
he  had  many  proselytes;  he  had  a  powerful  protector  in 
the  duke  of  Lancaster,  the  king's  uncle,  surnamed  John  of 
Gaunt,  a  mortal  enemy  of  the  clergy,  and  regent  of  the 
kingdom  during  his  nephew's  minority.  Under  the  pro- 
tection of  this  puissant  prince,  AVicklitf  continued  to  dis- 
seminate his  pestilential  doctrines  with  impunity,  till  a 
paralytic  seizure  suddenly  hurried  him  out  of  life  in  1385. 
His  loUowers  are  known  by  the  name  of  Lollards."     p.  422^ 

He  was  afterward  condemned,  and  his  dead  body  was 
burned, 

A.  D.  1378  to  1429.  During  this  period  of  fifty-one 
years,  there  were  two  or  three  antipopes  all  the  time. 

THE   TEUTONIC   KNIGHTS. 

Yet  the  work  of  conversion  went  bravely  on.  Haweis 
>says : 

''The  Teutonic  knights  had  nearly  extirpated,  by  fire 
.and  sword.  Paganism  in  Prussia  and  Livonia.  One  Pagan 
inomvrch  there  still  was,  strong  in  the  affections  and  valor 
of  his  people,  Jagellon,  duke  of  Lithuania.  A,  D.  138G. 
The  vacant  throne  of  Poland,  and  the  beautiful  Hedwige, 
the  daughter  of  the  preceding  sovei-eign,  had  charms  in-e- 
«istible.  As  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  could  be  obtained 
without  his  submitting  to  baptism,  and  receiving  the  sign 
of  the  cross,  bethought  himself  well  paid  lor  his  complais- 
anee,  and  bending  the  necks  of  his  Pagan  subjects  to  the 
religion  he  had  himself  embraced,  he  united  his  duciiy 
with  the  crown  of  Poland,  and  received  the  fair  princess 
for  his  bride,  and  proceeded  to  convert  his  subjects. 
Death  in  every  shape  of  horror  seized  the  obstinate,  and 
those  who  saved  their  lives  by  baptism,  neither  saved  their 
property,  nor  changed  one  of  their  sentiments.  We  may 
be  always  sure,  'A  religion  that  persecutes  never  came 
FROM  heaven.'     It  must  be  said  of  every  one  who  injures 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY.  467 

his  fellow,  'Ye  are  of  your  father,  the  devil,  cand  the  works 
of  your  father  ye  do.'  Yet  even  these  horrid  executions 
produced  the  liig:h  coiumeudations  of  the  Church  of  Kouie, 
and  merited  indulgences  eq[ual  to  the  zeal  of  crusaders." 
Haweis,  ii.  8,  9. 

Nothing  ever  exceeded  the  corruption  of  the  Roman 
CJnirch  at  this  time.  Its  creed  was  putrid  with  heresy 
and  its  heart  venemous  with  crime. 

TESTIMONIES. 

"Their  extreme  licentiousness  was  hardly  concealed  by 
the  cowl  of  sanctity."     Hallem,  ii.  2.53. 

"  Rather  than  abstain  from  adoring  Christ  and  his  mo- 
ther and  the  images,  it  would  be  better  for  j'^ou  to  enter 
everv  brothel,  and  visit  every  prostitute,  "  said  an  abbot 
Gib. 'iii.  341. 

'•Indulgences  produced  licentiousness  in  fixing  the 
charges  for  sin.  The  pilgrimages  afforded  temptation  and 
opportunity,  and  the  English  women  endure  a  universal 
scandal."     Hallem.  ii.  255. 

"Auricular  confession  delivered  all  female  confessors 
over  to  the  profligate  priest."     Ibid.  ii.  253. 

"The  concubinage  of  the  priests  made  their  reproofs  of 
vice  powerless.  Nearly  every  priest  had  his  mistress," 
Barnes  on  Revelation,  p.  278. 

The  history  of  the  Romish  priests  is  too  filthy  to  write 
and  too  cruel  to  contemplate. 

FIFTEENTH    CENTURY. 

A.  D.  1401.  The  first  Englishman  known  to  have  been 
burnt  was  William  Sawtre.     He  was  a  Lollard. 

A.  D.  1409.  The  Council  of  Pisa  passed  an  act  stating 
John  XXIII.,  Benedict  XIII.,  and  Gregory  XII.  un- 
worthy to  preside  over  the  church,  and  therefore  deprived 
tjiem  of  all  pre-eminence,  forbidding  them  henceforth  to 
act  as  pope,  or  to  assume  the  title.     Reeves,  424. 

They  elected  Alexander  V.,  but  as  neither  of  the  in- 
fallibles  resigned,  there  were  now  three  popes  anathema- 
tizing each  other,  and  of  course  ail  infallible. 

A.  D.  1409.    The  Council  of  Pisa  denounced  two  popes, 


4G8  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

and  cleclared  the  superior  authority  of  a  council.  The  Council 

of  Ferara  affirmed  the  procession  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost, 

from  both  the  Father  and  Son  in  an  equal  supreme  deity, 

and  a  brief  reunion  of  the  churches  followed. 

A.  D.  1411.     The  Jews  were  cruelly  persecuted  by  the 

Catholics. 

A.  D.  1412.  Algebra  was  broughtinto  Europe  by  the  Arabs. 

A.    D.    1416.       POPES    NOT   YET    INFALLIBLE. 

The  Catholic  historian  says :  "  JohnXXll.  was  a  scholar 
of  refined  talents  and  extensive  knowledge.  Wandering 
in  the  mazes  of  speculative  theology,  he  had  attached  him- 
self to  a  plausible  opinion,  as  it  seemed,  relative  to  the 
state  in  which  he  conceived  the  faithful  to  be  after  their 
departure  out  of  this  life.  Though  fond  of  his  opinion,  he 
did  not  pretend  to  teach  or  to  define  it  as  a  certain  truth. 
But  as  a  private  divine,  he  ventured  to  assert  in  his  ser- 
mons, that  he  thought  the  souls  of  the  just  after  death,  al- 
though free  froui  every  stain  of  sin,  were  not  admitted  to 
the  full  enjoyment  of  the  beatific  vision  before  the  last 
day.  He  wished  to  see  the  opinion  adopted  in  the  pulpit 
and  the  schools."     Reeves,  p.  134. 

Here  was  a  fine  chance  to  try  the  infallibility  of  the 
pope,  and  they  tried  it ;  proving  that  neither  pope  nor 
people    believed   a  word  of  it.     The    historian    proceeds ; 

"  The  cry  against  it  was  universal ;  he  therefore  ceased 
to  urge  it  any  longer;  and  when  he  found  that  all  ranks  of 
men,  the  bishops  and  divines,  were  scandalized  at  it,  he 
assembled  the  cardinals  who  were  with  him  at  Avignon, 
and  read  to  them  a  bull  which  he  had  prepared  upon  the 
subject.  In  that  bull  he  expressly  says,  '  We  profess  and 
believe,  that  the  souls,  separated  from  their  bodies  and 
purified  from  sin,  are  in  heaven  with  Jesus  Christ  and  his 
angels,  that  they  see  God  and  his  divine  essence  clearly, 
and  face  to  face;  and  if  we  have  preached,  said,  or  written 
any  thing  to  the  contrary,  we  now  expressly  recall  it.''" 
Reeves,  p.  134. 

He  died  the  following  day,  December  4. 

The  Burning  of  IIuss.  In  1413  ''John  Huss  wrote  an 
excellent  refutation  of  the  bull  of  John  XXIII.  In  a  coun- 
cil held  at  Rome  by  this  pope,  at  the  first  session  happened 
the  adventure  with  the  owl.     After  the  mass  of  the  Holy 


POPES  NOT  YET  INFALLIBLE.  469 

Gliost,  all  beins;  seated,  and  John  sitting  on  his  throne, 
suchlenly  a  frightinl  owl  came  screaming  out  of  his  hole, 
and  phiced  himself  jnst  before  the  pope,  staring  earnestly 
upon  him.  The  arrival  of  this  nocturnal  bird  in  the  day 
time  caused  many  speculations;  some  took  it  for  an  ill 
omen,  and  were  terrified;  others  smiled,  and  whispered  to 
each  other  that  the  Holy  Ghost  had  assumed  a  strange 
form  to  appear  in.  As  to  the  pope,  he  blushed,  and  was 
in  a  sweat,  and  arose  and  broke  up  the  assembly.  But  at 
the  next  session,  the  owl  took  his  x>lace  again,  fixing  his 
eyes  upon  John,  who  was  more  dismayed  than  before,  and 
ordered  them  to  drive  away  the  bird.  A  pleasant  sight  it 
was  to  behold  the  prelates  occupied  in  hunting  him;  for 
he  would  not  decamp.  At  last  they  killed  Ip'ni  as  an  in- 
corrigible heretic,  by  flinging  their  canes  at  him,"  Jortin, 
jii.  379. 

Reeves  says  that  some  Bohemian  students  carried  from 
England  the  writings  of  John  Wickliff,  with  which  Huss 
was  pleased,  and  to  which  Jerome  was  converted.  The 
council  summoned  Huss  to  appear  to  answer.  "For  the 
security  of  his  person,  he  procured  a  passport  from  the 
emperor.  The  passport  was  a  recommendation  from  the 
emperor  to  magistrates  and  commanders  to  let  him  pass 
unmolested,  and  provide  every  thing  necessary  for  his 
journej,  both  going  and  returning."  The  safeguard  of  the 
emperor  only  secured  him  a'free  passage  to  Constance  and 
free  liberty  to  plead  his  own  cause,     pp.  427,  428. 

There  was  no  other  way  of  silencing  him  than  by  put- 
ting him  under  arrest  "Huss  having  imbibed  his  opinions 
chiefly  from  the  errors  of  WicklifF  and  the  Albigenses'' 
(p.  427),  he  was  tried  on  the  5tli  of  June,  1415,  "He 
was  sullen,  and  would  retract  nothing."  Reeves,  the 
Catholic,  says  further: 

'•He  was  brought  forth  again  on  the  6th  of  Jul}--  to  re- 
ceive sentence.  The  sentence  was:  that  John  Huss,  being 
clearly  convicted  of  heresy,  whicii  he  has  publicly  taught 
and  obstinately  defended  against  former  decisions  of  the 
church,  shall  be  degraded  from  the  order  of  priesthood, 
and  delivered  over  to  the  secular  arm  to  be  disposed  of  as 
the  laws  of  the  empire  direct.  The  ceremony  of  his  de- 
gradation was  immediately  performed  upon  the  spot;  the 
council  had  now  done  with  him :  the  elector  Palatine  took 


470  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

his  body  into  custody  by  the  emperor's  order,  and  com- 
mitted it  to  the  civil  magistrates  of  Constance.  Burning 
alive  was  the  punishment  which  the  Germanic  law  at  that 
time  inflicted  upon  a  criminal,  judicially  convicted  of  ob- 
stinate error  against  faith,  and  to  that  punishment  the 
magistrates  of  Constance  sentenced  Johi\  lluss.  The  16th 
of  July  was  the  day  appointed  for  his  execution.  In  the 
interim,  every  thing  was  tried  to  bring  the  miserable  man 
to  a  sense  of  his  Christian  duty.  His' life  was  offered  to 
him  if  he  would  only  retract.  'But  know,'  says  he,  in  his 
letter  to  the  university  of  Prague,  the  day  before  he  suf- 
fered, '  I  have  neither  revoked  nor  abjured  any  one  arti- 
cle,' In  those  sentiments  he  persisted  to  the  very  last; 
he  even  retused  the  offered  attendance  of  a  priest  at  the 
place  of  execution,  alleging  that  he  felt  not  his  conscience 
burdened  with  any  mortal  sin,  that  he  had  nothing  to  con- 
fess, and  nothing  to  repent  of.  He  was  tied  to  the  stake; 
the  wind  blew  strong;  the  faggots  were  so  placed  that  as 
soon  as  lighted,  a  thick  smoke  svifFocated  the  criminal,  and 
in  an  instant  put  him  out  of  the  state  of  suffering  from 
the  blaze.  His  ashes  were  gathered  up  and  thrown  into 
the  Rhine." 

Death  of  Jerome.  Reeves,  the  same  Catholic,  says: 
"The  same  leveling  system,  and  the  same  spirit  of 
anarchy,  which  had  animated  the  Albigenses  in  France, 
and  the  Wickliffites  in  England,  now  armed  the  Hussites  in 
Bohemia.  Zisca,  a  man  of  good  family  in  tiie  country,  but 
an  enthusiastic  Hussite,  sought  to  establish  liis  master's 
principle  by  force  of  arms,  and  commenced  an  unprovoked 
rebellion  against  his  lawl'ul  sovereign.  The  ferocity  of  his 
temper  drove  him  to  commit  the  most  atrocious  cruelties. 
To  perpetuate  his  spirit  among  the  Bohemian  boors,  he 
directed  in  his  will  that  after  his  death  a  drum  should  be 
covered  with  his  skin,  and  used  as  an  instrument  to  rouse 
them  to  arms  against  the  Catholic  princes.  Jerome  of 
Prague  was  still  alive,  and  in  conlinement.  His  seditious 
conduct  had  caused  him  to  be  arrested  and  sent  to  Con- 
stance. Being  denounced  to  the  council  as  an  abettor  and 
propagator  of  heresy,  he  was  summoned  to  answer  the 
charge,  and  was  excommunicated  by  the  council,  and 
condemned  for  a  formal  heretic.  Ihe  civil  magistrates 
took  possession  of  his  body,  and  upon  the  1st  of  June, 
1416,  executed  the  law  upon  him  in  the  same  place,  and 
after  tlie  same  manner,  as  had  been  done  upon  his  master, 
John  Huss,  eleven  months  before."     pp.  427',  428. 


ANTI-CATHOLIC   CHRISTIANS.  471 

The  profane  Catholic  attempts  no  apology.  The  viola 
tion  of  the  pass,  and  the  burning  of  Huss  and  Jerome,  are 
all  alike  justified  by  the  Catholic  historian. 

A.  D.  1417.  The  manufacture  of  paper  from  rags  was 
invented. 

"A  certain  priest,  who  was  a  deist,  and  was  brought 
before  his  bishop  upon  that  account,  did  not  dissemble  his 
opinion.  But  being  tortured,  he  recanted  and  declared 
himself  converted  to  Christianity,  and  desired  to  be  put 
into  a  monastery.  This  change  was  thought  miraculous 
by  some  people,  who  would  have  had  more  reason  to  think 
it  so,  if  a  jail  and  the  rack  had  not  been  employed  in  his 
conversion." 

L'Enfant  has  made  some  remarks  on  the  Bohemian 
Adamites,  and  says : 

"The  accounts  which  we  have  of  the  later  heretics 
come  for  the  most  part  from  the  shops  of  their  contempo- 
raries, the  monks,  who  were  most  notorious  imxDostors,  and 
so  given  to  lying,  that,  as  the  Benedictine  Thomas  of  Wal- 
singham  observes,  it  was  universally  allowed  to  be  a 
conclusive  argument:  The  man  is  a  monk;  ergo,  he  is  % 
liar." 

A.  D.  1439.  A  pretended  union  between  the  Greeks 
and  Latins  was  patched  up  at  the  Council  of  Florence. 
Jor.  iii.  379,  382. 

A.  D.  1441,  Printing  was  invented,  by  Faust,  in  Ger- 
many. 

ANTI-CATHCLIC    CHRISTIANS. 

The  Jacobites  were  Eutychian  Christians.  The  Catho- 
lics say  that  they  were  "  so  called  from  Jacobus  of  Antioch 
in  the  sixth  century,  and  that  their  sect  extended  wide 
through  Armenia,  Syria,  Ethiopia  and  Abyssinia.  They 
admitted  but  one  nature  in  Christ.'"  In  the  formal  recep- 
tion of  their  patriarch,  in  1441,  it  is  admitted  that  they 
still  held  this  extended  territory  in  Asia  and  Africa;  and 
the  decree  of  the  pope  on  their  errors  on  the  Trinity,  etc. 
prove  that  they  never  adopted  all  the  Catholic  heresy  on 
that  doctrine,  but  continued  the  Oriental  Church  inde- 
pendent of  popery  all  through  the  dark  ages.     That  the 


472  CIIURCU   HISTORY. 

patriarch  and  others  formed  a  union  with  the  pope  in  the 
fifteenth  century  is  true,  as  did  also  the  Emperor  John 
Palaeologus  for  the  Greek  Church.  But  the  union  was 
only  visionary.  See  Eeeves,  p.  439.  It  is  plain  that  up  to 
the  sixteenth  century  not  one-fourth  of  the  Christian  world 
was  ever  united  under  popery.  On  the  death  of  John 
Palaeologus  in  1448,  Constantino,  the  last  of  the  Greek 
emperors,  ascended  the  throne,  already  threatened  by 
Mohammed  II.  The  son  of  Amarath  in  1453  marched  on 
Constantinople.  Constantino  implored  aid  from  the  Cath- 
olic world  in  vain.    . 

Michael  Angelo  was  born  1474.  An  artist,  alike  emin- 
ent in  painting,  poetry,  sculpture,  and  architecture,  in 
whom  was  the  combined  genius  of  the  many  in  one. 
Among  his  works  are  the  Monuments  of  the  Medici,  the 
Last  Judgment,  Conversion  of  St.  Paul,  Descent  from  the 
Cross.  His  scene  of  the  judgment:  1.  The  angels  with 
trumpets  awakening  the  dead  for  judgment;  2.  The  apos- 
tles placing  a  crown  on  the  head  of  the  Judge ;  3.  The 
righteous  ascending  to  join  the  angels;  4.  The  martyrs 
showing  the  instruments  of  their  torture;  5.  Devils  shout- 
ing in  sight  of  their  prey;  6.  The  wicked  trying  to  cling 
to  the  righteous ;  7.  The  opening  gulf 

Erasmus,  a  true  Christian,  though  in  the  Catholic  com- 
munion, was  born  in  Germany  in  1467,  and  ordained  in 
1492.  He  translated  the  New  Testament  into  Latin.  He 
was  one  of  the  greatest  scholars  of  modern  times.  His 
writings  were  very  numerous.  He  died  in  1536.  He  is 
accused  of  Arianism  and  Armenianism.  His  pacific  meas- 
ures pleased  all  and  offended  all,  and  all  claimed  him  and 
blamed  him. 

SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. 

The  sixteenth  century  opened  with  a  gleam  of  sunshine. 
The  art  of  printing  disseminated  knowledge.  The  diffusion 
of  Bibles  broke  the  power  of  priestcraft.  On  reading  the 
New  Testament  many  discovered  with  astonishment  that 
the  church  which  had  assumed  to  be  the  only  true  church, 


AGE   OF  REFORMATION.  473 

was  unnamed  in  the  Bible,  except  as  a  societ}'  of  apos- 
tates and  conspirators  against  the  true  followers  of  the 
Savior.  Yet  with  the  increase  of  light  there  was  an  in- 
crease of  determination  on  the  part  of  the  Catholics.  In 
1503  the  ancient  Syrian  Church  was  nearly  annihilated. 
The  Portuguese  felt  that  it  was  a  scandal  to  popery  to 
have  so  irany  other  churches  claiming  equal  or  superior 
antiquity.  The  Syrian  Christians  claimed  that  they  had 
been  preserved  as  a  church  from  the  days  of  the  apostles, 
and  had  an  uninterrupted  succession,  of  bishops,  and  pas- 
tors from  the  beginning,  independent  of  popery.  They  were 
represented  at  the  Council  of  Nice;  but  when  the  Catho- 
lic Church  deified  Mary  as  the  "Mother  of  God,"  the  Syri- 
ans abandoned  them,  and  were  cursed  as  Eutychians.  In 
the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  Kome  determined 
on  their  subjugation.  (See  Memoirs  of  Buchanan,  pp.  305 
-315.)  They  possessed  hundreds  of  churches,  which  had 
been  planted  by  the  apostles;  and  had  enjoyed  a  suces- 
sion  of  bishoj)s  down  to  the  present.  Their  churches  were 
seized  for  the  popes,  their  bishops  were  imprisoned  to 
study  popish  theology,  their  priests  were  slain  to  make 
room  for  Home's  subordinates;  and  iheir  books  were  burned, 
"that  no  pretended  ajiostolic  monuments  might  remain." 

A.  D.  1520.  The  Abyssinian  Christians,  who  had  lived 
almost  unknown  to  the  Catholics  lor  over  a  thousand 
years,  suddenly  found  Koman  missionaries  among  them. 
These  simple  Christians  regarded  the  Catholic  doctrine  as 
Arianism,  and  called  the  Romans  Arians.  Yea,  more,  the 
worshipers  ot  four  Cods,  a  Father,  Son  and  Spirit,  and  a 
man  Christ  deihed.  (Gib.  iv.  444.)  For  the  Abyssinians 
were  converted  before  the  adoption  of  the  two  natures^ 
i.  e.,  two  wills  in  Christ ;  and  were  called  by  the  Romans  Mo 
nophysites.  The  Abyssinian  monarch  united  with  Rome 
and  attemi)ted  to  convert  his  people. 

"  A  new  baptism,  a  new  ordination,  was  inilicted  on  the 
natives;  and  they  trembled  with  horror  when  the  most 
holy  of  the  dead  were  torn  from  their  graves,  when  the 
most  illustrious  of  the  living  were  exconnnunicated  by  a 
foreign  priest.     In  the  defense  of  their  religion  and  liberty, 


474  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

the  Abyssinians  rose  in  arms  with  desperate  but  unsuccess- 
ful zeal  Five  rebellions  were  extinguished  in  the  blood  of 
the  insurgents;  two  abunas  were  slain  in  battle,  whole  legions 
were  slaughtered  in  the  field,  or  suffocated  in  their  caverns; 
and  neither  merit,  nor  rank,  nor  sex,  could  save  from  an 
ignominious  death  the  enemies  of  Rome.  But  the  victo- 
rious monarch  was  finally  subdued  by  the  constancy  of  the 
nation,  of  his  mother,  of  his  son,  and  of  his  most  faithful 
friends.  Segued  listened  to  the  voice  of  pity,  of  reason, 
perhai)s  of  fear;  and  his  edict  of  liberty  of  conscience 
instantly  revealed  the  tyranny  and  weakness  of  the  Jesu- 
its. On  the  death  of  his  father,  Basilides  expelled  the 
Latin  patriarch,  and  restored  to  the  wishes  of  the  nation 
the  faith  and  the  discipline  of  Egypt.  The  Monophysite 
churches  resounded  with  a  song  of  triumph,  that  the  sheep 
of  Ethiopia  were  now  delivered  from  the  hyenas  of  the 
West;  and  the  gates  of  that  solitary  realm  were  for  ever 
shut  against  the  arts,  the  science,  and  the  fanaticism  of 
Europe."     Gib.  iv.  445. 

How  much  these  African  Christians  have  suffered  from 
their  pagan  neighbors,  and  from  Mohammedan  conquerors, 
we  can  not  here  relate;  nor  are  they  less  the  objects  of 
our  sympathy,  if  in  faith  or  practice  they  have  deviated 
much  from  the  primitive  form.  They  have  the  Scriptures 
which  they  study,  and  a  church  which  has  stood  from  the 
days  of  the  apostles  to  the  present  hour.  If  they  are  not 
as  enlightened  as  the  Catholics,  neither  have  they  been  so 
cruel.  With  less  committed  to  them,  they  have  less  to  an- 
swer for. 

The  morning  stars  proclaimed  the  night  of  popery  pass- 
ing away.  The  Christians  had  struggled  with  the  monster 
through  ths  long  dark  night,  and  the  opening  day  found 
the  mulUludes  not  subdued,  but  anxious  for  the  coming 
day.  Christian  dissenters  were  everywhere.  They  were 
Lollards  in  England:  Arian,  Albigenses,  Christians  in 
France:  Waldenses,  Christians  in  Piedmont :  Manicheans, 
Christians  in  Italy : Armenians,  Christians  in  Syria:Nesto- 
rians,  Christians  in  Africa:  Albigenses,  Christians  in  Ger- 
many. Everywhere  Christian  freemen  stood  before  the 
priest  to  teach  a  better  religion.  The  light  was  breaking ; 
the  morning  was  dawning. 


ILLUSTRIOUS  NAMES.  475 

THE    PROTESTANT   SCHISM.      A.    D.  1529. 

Six  princes  composed  the  first  Protestant  Church, 
They  were 

John,  George,  Ernest,  Francis,  Philip,  and  Anhalt. 

A.  D.  1529.  April  19.  At  the  Diet  of  Spiers  John  and 
George,  electors  of  Saxony  and  Brandenburg,  Ernest  and 
Francis,  Dukes  of  Lunenburg,  Philip,  Landgrave  of  Hesse, 
Anhalt,  Duke  of  Bernburg,  supported  by  thirteen  imperial 
towns,  protested  against  the  action  of  the  diet  in  taking 
away  the  liberty  of  the  states  which  they  governed. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  pope 
enjoyed  the  repose  of  security  and  quiet,  after  the  cruel 
slaughter  of  the  Albigenses,  and  the  burning  of  Huss  and 
Jerome.  The  Portuguese  and  Spaniards  with  syllogisms 
and  soldiers  were  subjugating  the  Syrian  and  the  Abys- 
sinian Christians,  and  proselyting  the  South  American  In- 
dians to  popery  by  the  sword. 

A.  D.  1620.  The  more  fortunate  work  took  place,  of 
the  settlement  of  the  eastern  part  of  North  America  by 
the  Puritans. 

illustrious  names. 

The  men  who  contributed  to  the  overthrow  of  popery 
in  several  nations  may  be  mentioned  in  the  following  or- 
der:  Wickliff,  Huss,  Jerome,  Erasmus,  Zuingle,  Luther, 
Carlostadt,  Munzer,  Manzius,  (Jalvin,  Cranmer,  and  Knox, 
but,  above  all,  the  printed  Bible,  and  Bible  preaching. 
In  1516  Ulric  Zuingle,  of  Switzerland,  whos.o  learning  and 
sagacity  were  accompanied  with  heroic  intrepidity  and 
resolution,  perceived  the  truth  even  before  Luther.  Shocked 
at  the  superstitious  practices  of  Kome,  so  early  as  1516 
he  had  begun  to  explain  the  Scriptures  to  the  people,  and 
to  plead  for  a  general  reformation. 

Maclaine  says :  '' Zuingle  had  explained  the  Scriptures 
to  the  people,  and  called  in  question  the  authority  and 
supremacy  of  the  pope,  before  the  name  of  Luiher  was 
known  in  Switzerland.     Instead  of  receiving  instruction 


476  CHURCH     HISTORY. 

from  liini,he  wasmiicli  his  superior  in  learning,  capacity,  and 
judiiinent,  and  was  much  litter  to  be  his  master  than  his 
disciple,  as  the  four  volumes  in  folio  which  we  have  of  his 
works  abundantly  testify." 

ZuiNGLE  (Ulricus)  was  born  January  1,  1481,  at  Wild- 
haus,in  Switzerland.  Having  mastered  the  Latin  language 
he  became  a  teacher  at  Basil  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  Here 
he  commenced  the  study  of  the  New  Testament,  copying 
the  Greek  texts  and  adding  notes.  He  was  astonished  to 
find  the  religion  in  many  respects  the  very  opposite  of 
that  of  the  church  to  which  he  belonged.  Hi*?  reputation 
for  learning  increasing,  in  1518  he  was  appointed  minister 
in  the  cathedral  of  Zurich,  and  in  1522  published  an  article 
on  Lent  which  confused  all  the  priests.  Li  1523  he  pre- 
sented his  Views  of  Religion  before  a  diet,  and  had  thirty- 
seven  articles  passed  by  the  diet.  He  then  wrote  several 
books  against  images,  and  in  favor  of  the  religion  of  the 
Bible. 

In  1531  the  Catholic  cantons  attacked  the  Protestants, 
and  Zuingle  was  slain,  in  the  forty-seventh  year  of  his  age. 
As  he  was  dying,  he  said,  ''Can  this  be  considered  a  ca- 
lamity? Well,  they  are  able  indeed  to  slay  the  body,  but 
they  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul."  The  Catholics  found 
his  body,  and  burned  it  to  ashes.  But  the  Bible  was  at 
work  in  other  places. 

Luther  was  born  November  10,  1483,  at  Eisleben,  Sax- 
ony, and  completed  his  education  at  Erfurth.  He  was 
ordained  a  priest  in  1506,  and  died  February  18,  1546,  aged 
sixty-three. 

A.  D.  1507.  A  young  monk  in  Germany,  of  the 
Augustine  order,  found  an  old,  neglected  boo^  in  the 
convent  library,  which  attracted  his  attention.  It  set 
forth  a  religion  of  which,  though  a  student,  he  hai^  vi-ot  yet 
become  acquainted.  He  was  surprised  to  find  the  name 
of  Jesus,  Mary,  the  Apostles,  and  an  account  of  .hings 
said  in  the  mass,  set  forth  in  a  plain,  common-sense  man- 
ner. His  heart  bounded  with  jo3\  He  had  found  the 
long-neglected  Latin  Bible.     He  was  a  student,  and   this 


INDULGENCES.  477 

was  a  book  «jf  knowledge.     He  was  a  theologian,  and  this 
was  a  book  of  theology.     He  was  a  Catholic.     This  was 
the  book  by  which  to  make  known  the  establishment  of 
the  Church,  and  prove  its  doctrines  divine.     The  young 
monk  made  this  book  his  constant  companion.     But  how 
was  he  disappointed,  as  he  read  its  musty  pages?     Was  it, 
after  all,  not  the  Bible?     Or  was  it  the  work  of  a  heretic 
against  his  religion?     Again  he  searched.     There  was  not 
only  an  absence  of  everything  peculiar  to  his  religion,  but 
the  most  essential  things  were  not  even  named.     He  was 
a  monk,  but  the  order  was  not  there  !     He  Avas  a  Catholic, 
but  no  such  church  was  named !     He  was  a  worshiper  of 
the  Roman  Trinity.     No  such  name  wns  found  in  that  old 
book,     or  the  things  most  sacred  to  the  monk,  there  was  a 
strange  absence.    Popes,  holy  water,  mass,  creeds,  christen  • 
ing,  cardinals,  friars,  penance,  purgatory  and  priests,  seemed 
neither  named  or  thought  of.     Alas  !  thought  the  monk  ;  this 
book  is  wrong,  or  I  am  !  He  looked  again.    '•'•Tlie  law  shall  go 
forth  from  Jerusalem.''''      "Jerusalem,  which  is  above,  is 
free,  which  is  the  mother  of  us  all."    Ah,  thought  he,  I  started 
from  Rome;  1  will  go  back  to  Jerusalem  for  my  religion. 
And  to  Jerusalem  he   went.     Not  over  the  Avater,  but  in 
the  word.     The  friars  were  charmed   with  his  piety.     The 
people  wojidered  at  his  eloquence.     The  doctors  were  as- 
tonished   at   his   learning.      He    was    chosen  professor  of 
theology  in  the  new  university  at  Wittenberg,  erected  by 
the  Elector  of  Saxony. 

Leo  X.  was  ambitious.  He  concluded  to  rebuild  Saint 
Peter's  Church.  The  merits  of  Christ  and  his  saints  had 
60  accumulated  in  the  spiritual  treasury  at  Rome,  that 
they  had  enough  and  to  spare,  while  with  the  laity  abroad 
there  was  a  great  dearth  of  grace.  Leo  wanted  money. 
So  he  sent  the  monks  into  all  the  world  to  trade  off  grace 
for  gold.  This  merchandise  of  the  gospel  was  intrusted 
to  the  friars  of  the  Franciscan  order,  no  favorites  with 
their  rivals  of  the  Augustine  sect.  Indulgence  is  the 
remission  of  the  penance  or  suffering  due  to  sin,  and  is  a 
traffic  peculiar  to  Rome.     The  Pope  and  the  Archbishop 


478  CHURCH  history. 

of  Meiitz  made  the  infamous  Tetzel,  a  Franciscan  friar — 
"notorious  for  his  extortion,  protligacy,  and  barbarity" 
(Mosh.  ii.  14) — the  grace-broker  of  German3^ 

The  (big  was  liung  out.  Tlie  niercliant  opened  liis  great 
chest,  and  displayed  his  commodities.  The  shop  was  tilled 
with  customers.    The  prices  were  set.    The  trade  was  brisk. 

s.    d.  s.    d. 

Robbery, 12  0.     Arson, 12  0. 

Sacrilege, 10  6.     Fornication, 9  0. 

Abortion, 7  6.      Incest, 7  6. 

Simony, 10  6.      Murder, 7  6. 

Perjury, 9  0.      Concubinage, 10  6. 

Assault  on  a  priest,.. .10  i>. 
And  so  on.  See  Ency.  Rel.  Knowl. 
We  do  not  mean  that,  by  paying,  persons  obtained  the 
right  to  commit  the  crimes.  This  would  be  too  barefaced. 
The  money  is  a  compromise  by  which  the  penalty  is  re- 
mitted, and  the  suffering  avoided.  So  that  a  person  may 
indulge  in  sin  on  this  assurance.  "But  no  penny  no 
mass."  This  brought  the  pennies.  Who  did  not  expect  to 
sin,  and  then,  like  everything  "  Catholic,"  the  virtues  of 
the  bogus  grace  were  infinite. 

Mosheim  says:  "Those  famous  indulgences  of  Leo  X. 
administered  the  remission  of  all  sins,  past,  present, 
and  to  come,  however  enormous  their  nature,  ta  those  who 
were  rich  enough  to  purchase  them.  The  frontless  monk 
executed  this  iniquitous  commission  not  only  with  match- 
less insolence,  indecency,  and  fraud,  but  even  carried  his 
impiety  so  far  as  to  derogate  from  the  all-sufficient  power 
and  influence  of  the  merits  of  Christ.  In  describing  the 
efficacy  of  these  indulgences,  Tetzel  said,  among  other 
enormities,  that  'even  had  anyone  ravished  the  Mother 
of  God,  he  (Tetzel)  had  wherewithal  to  efface  his  guilt.' 
He  also  boasted  that  'he  had  saved  more  souls  from  hell 
by  these  indulgences,  than  St.  Peter  had  converted  to 
Christianity  by  his  preaching.'"     ii.  14. 

A.  D.  1517.  Then  came  the  word  of  the  young  Bible 
reader,  raising  his  warning  voice  in  ninety-five  proposi- 
tions. He  maintained  publicly  at  Wittenberg,  on  the  30th 
of  September,  1517,  censured  the  extravagant  extortion. 
Germany  echoed  the  voice  of  Luther.     Tetzel  was  exas- 


ILLUSTRIOUS   NAMES.  479 

perated.  He  was  indignant.  He  had  received  the  mark, 
and  had  a  riglit  to  "buy  and  sell,"  and  trade  in  the  "souls 
of  men."  (Rev.  13:  17,  and  18:  13.)  He  threatened  Lu- 
ther with  the  inquisition.  The  threat  only  tired  the  heart 
of  the  young  Bible  reader.  The  pope  was  slumbering  in 
the  Vatican.  The  Virgin  Mary  had  charge  of  the  church. 
To  the  learned  doctors,  Reuchlinus,  Erasmus,  Cajatan,  he 
intrusted  the  theology.  The  Inquisition  was  watching  for 
heretics.  The  monks  took  care  of  the  flocks;  but  when 
Luther  spake,  the  word  stirved  all  Europe,  and  awoke  the 
slumbering  pope.  He  inquired  who  this  young  German 
was;  and  was  but  partially  pacified  on  learning  that  he 
was  not  a  bishop,  but  only  a  professor  of  divinity  at  Wit- 
tenberg. 

A.  D.  1518.  Luther  went  to  Augsburg.  The  lordly 
Cajatan  was  Luther's  judge  at  Augsburg.  He  treated  him 
without  consideration,  and  ordered  him,  as  heretic,  to  re- 
nounce his  writings.  Here  Luther's  career  would  liave 
ended  in  a  fire,  of  which  he  would  have  been  the  fuel,  but 
for  his  safe  conduct  from  the  elector  and  his  sagacity. 
Seeing  that  only  evil  awaited  him,  and  that  he  could  have 
no  justice,  and  his  safe  conduct  being  threatened,  he  made 
public  an  appeal  to  the  pope,  and  secretly  left  Augsburg, 
thus,  by  the  providence  of  God,  saving  his  life.  The  pope 
then  published  an  edict  commanding  all  to  confess  his 
power  to  deliver  from  punishment  due  to  sin.  This  pre- 
vented Luther's  journey  to  Rome,  and  his  life  was  again 
saved.  He  appealed  to  a  general  council.  But  the  pope 
appointed  Charles  Meltitz  to  try  him ;  and  demanded  the 
Eiecotr  of  Saxony  to  compel  Luther  to  renounce  his  doctrine, 
or  to  withdraw  his  protection.  Meltitz  at  the  same  time 
attributed  all  the  evil  to  the  poor  wretch  Tetzel,  who  find- 
ing himself  condemned  by  Rome  and  despised  by  Luther 
gave  himself  up  to  despair ;  feeling  that  he  was  sacrificed 
as  a  victim  to  make  peace.     And  this  was  the  case. 

Retribution.  Rome  willing  to  sacrifice  Tetzel,  to  pac- 
ify Luther,  loaded  him  with  reproaches.  Poor  Tetzel,  now 
despised  by  both  parties,  fell  into  great  grief. 


480  cnuRCii  niSTORY". 

1519.  Luther,  ont  of  pity,  wrote  him  a  letter  of  con- 
solation; but  he  died  of  grief  and  chagrin.  "His  iuTamy 
was  perpetuated  by  a  picture  placed  in  the  3hurch  of 
Pirna,  in  which  he  is  represented  as  sitting  on  an  ass  and 
selling  indulgences," 

Meltitz  persuaded  Luther  to  write  to  the  pope,  which 
he  did  in  an  humble  manner.  "Give  me  life  or  death,  ap- 
prove or  disapprove,"  he  told  the  pope,  "I  will  hear  your 
voice  as  the  voice  of  Jesus  Christ."  "My  only  desire,"  he 
wrote  to  a  bishop,  "  is  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  church  and 
to  follow  it.  Even  unto  death  I  will  remain  an  humble 
and  obedient  son  of  the  Catholic  Church."  (Reeves,  458.) 
The  pope  was  arrogant,  and  the  fight  went  on. 

A.  D.  1519.  The  debate  took  place  at  Leipsic.  Eckius 
was  a  celebrated  theologian. 

"  Luther  demonstrated  that  the  Church  of  Rome,  in 
the  earlier  ages,  had  never  been  acknowledged  as  su- 
perior to  other  churches,  and  he  combated  the  pretensions 
of  that  church  and  its  bishops,  from  the  testimony  of 
Scripture,  the  authority  of  the  fathers,  and  the  best  eccle- 
siastical historians,  and  even  from  the  decrees  of  the  Coun- 
cil ol"  Nice;  while  all  the  arguments  of  Eckius  were  de- 
rived from  the  spurious  Decretals,  scarcely  of  four  hundred 
years'  standing.  On  the  10th  of  December,  1520,  Luther 
had  a  pile  of  wood  erected  witliout  the  city,  and  in  pres- 
ence of  a  multitude  of  all  ranks  and  orders,  he  committed 
to  the  flames  the  bull  that  had  been  published  against 
him.  Li  less  than  a  month  after  he  had  taken  this  noble 
and  important  step,  a  second  bull  Avas  issued  against  liim, 
on  the  Gth  of  Januarv,  1521,  by  which  he  was  excommu- 
nicated."    Mosh.  ii.  18,  20. 

Luther  now  rose  or  sunk  to  a  lev3l  with  the  pope,  a  man 
against  a  monarch.  The  burner  of  heretics  was  delied. 
The  bull  was  "the  execrable  bull  of  Antichrist,"  Luther 
caused  to  be  burned  at  Wittenberg,  and  added,  how  well 
it  would  be  could  he  do  as  much  to  the  pope  himself.  For 
the  pope,  said  he,  is  a  wolf,  possessed  by  an  evil  spirit; 
(tom.  i.)  and,  as  he  afterward  expressed  himself  (tom.  vii), 
is  so  full  of  devils,  that  he  spits  them  out  of  his  mouth, 
and  blows  them  out  of  his  nose."     (Reeves.)     He  had  now 


ILLUSTRIOUS   NAMES.  481 

for  his  friends,  not  only  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  but  the 
Landgrave  of  Hesse,  and  the  Kings  of  Denmark,  Sweden 
and  Albert  of  Prussia. 

Maximilian  I.  had  resigned  the  crown,  and  Charles  suc- 
ceeded him,  Charles  was  the  grandson  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  the  son  of  their  daughter  Jane,  and  by  this  Charles 
I.  of  Spain,  as  well  as  Charles  V.  of  Austria.  The  new 
emperor  called  a  council  at  Worms  in  1521,  The  prince 
procured  for  Luther  a  safe  conduct  Irom  the  emj)eror. 
When  informed  of  the  designs  of  Rome,  and  the  bull  that 
had  been  published  against  him  by  the  pontiff,  his  Iriends 
advised  him  not  to  expose  his  person  at  the  diet,  as  the 
imperial  safe  conduct  had  not  been  sufficient  to  protect. 
John  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Fragile  from  the  cruelty  of 
their  enemies.  He  answered,  "were  he  obliged  to  en- 
counter at  Worms  as  many  devils  as  there  were  tiles  upon 
the  houses  of  that  city,  this  would  not  deter  him." 

A.  D.  1521.  April  17,  He  stood  before  the  counciL 
The  i^ope's  ecclesiastical  creatures,  when  Luther  was  ob- 
stinate, proposed  to  punish  him  at  once,  as  they  did  Huss 
The  emperor  himself  objected.  Yet  there  was  danger. 
Catholics  are  untrustworthy.  They  had  violated  his  pass, 
and  burned  Huss.  Luther  saw  the  danger ;  and  May  5, 
1521,  was  suilered  to  retire.  The  council  issued  the  edict,. 
May  8,  1521,  condemning  him  as  the  enemy  of  the  em- 
pire, by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  emperor  and  princes. 
But  Luther  was  gone.  His  safe  conduct  opened  the  way 
cud  he  left,  Frederick  saw  the  thunderbolt  coming,  and 
liad  Luther  seized  on  his  way  and  secreted.  "By  this 
precaution  of  the  elector,  put  in  execution  the  3d  of  May,, 
five  days  before  the  condemnation,  the  pope  missed  his 
blow;  and  the  adversaries,  doubly  odious  to  the  people, 
who,  unacquainted  with  the  scheme,  and  not  knowing 
what  was  become  of  the  reformer,  imagined  that  he  was 
imprisoned  or  destroyed.  Luther  lived  in  peace  and  quiet 
in  the  castle  of  Wurtemberg,  where  he  translated  a  great 
part  of  the  New  Testament  into  the  German  language, 
passing  for  a  country  gentleman,  under  the  appellation  of 
3( 


4S2  CHURCU    HISTORY. 

Yonnker  George:  In  March  of  1522  Luther  retiinieJ  to 
"Wittenberg  and  continued  his  transhitions. 

July  1.  1823,  two  monks  were  burned  lor  Lutlierani>m, 
and  tlie  Imperial  edicts  came  thicker  than  haih  The  Pojie 
raves,  doctors  denounce,  hangmen  burn.  Private  a^ssem- 
blies  for  devotion,  reading  the  Scriptures,  discussions  on 
faith  even  in  one's  own  house,  are  forbidden  under  the 
penalty  of  death.  Yet  the  persecuted  found  time  to  perse- 
cute. The  quarrel  of  Lutlier  and  Zwingle  impeded  the 
Reformation  more  than  Popish  laws,  edict,  sword  or  flame. 
Humanity  became  discouraged  to  see  Protestants  as  ready 
as  Papists  with  sword  and  fagot.     Motley's  Dutch  Rep.  77. 

'•Whoever  rejects  infant  baptism,"  or  "preaches  against 
taxes,  or  teaches  commiety  of  goods,  or  sins  against  faith, 
let  him  be  punished  with  death,  said  the  reformers."  Au- 
din,  461:.  , 

A.  D.  1526.  A  diet  at  Spiers  granted  to  each  prince  to 
regulate  religion  in  his  own  dominions ;  and  in  1527, 
Charles,  offended  with  the  political  measures  of  the  pope 
ana  the  French  king,  abolished  the  papal  power  in  Spain, 
laid  siege  to  Rome,  and  blocked  up  the  pope  in  the  castle 
of  St.  Angelo,  while  Luther  and  the  evangelical  preachers 
spread  the  gospel  in  all  Germany. 

A.  1).  1529.  But  Charles  soon  concluded  peace  with 
ihe  pope.  And  at  a  diet  at  Spiers,  in  1529,  the  emperor's 
brother,  Ferdinand,  presided,  assisted  by  the  pope's  legate, 
and  the  edict  of  liberty,  passed  at  Spiers,  in  1526,  was  re- 
voked, and  any  change  of  the  Roman  i  eligion  was  declared 
unlawful. 

It  was  here  that  the  six  princes.  John,  George,  Ernest, 
Philip,  Francis  and  Anhalt  entered  their  solemn  protest. 
Such  is  the  origin  of  the  name,  and  these  six  princes  were* 
the  tirst  Protlstant  Church.  The  emperor  arrested  their 
ambassadors  sent  to  acquaint  him  with  their  proceedings; 
hearing  which,  they  united  for  defense.  Luther  was  now 
disputing  with  (Ecolampadius,  and  Melancthon  with  Zuin- 
gle,  the  reformer  of  Switzerland;  and  to  uphold  a  modified 
view  of  the  rustic  idolatry  of  the  Eucharist,  Luther  ac- 
cused the  learned  Zuingle  of  heresy.  A  diet  Avas  appointed 
at  Augsburg,  where  a  knowledge  was  expected  of  the  new 
doctrine    or  changes.      Now  was  the  time  for  Luther  to 


LUTHER  OBJECTS   TO   THE   TRINITY.  483 

take  his  stand  boldly  upon  the  word  of  God.  He  had 
made  that  glorious  book  his  study.  He  had  been  called  a 
gospeler  because  his  sermons  and  arguments  had  been 
drawn  from  the  gospels.  His  appeals  to  the  Bible  had 
established  his  fame.  This  had  given  the  reformers  their 
power.  It  had  not  been  so  much  Luther  and  the  pope  as 
Luther's  Bible  and  the  pope,  that  the  people  had  chosen 
between.  Luther  delivered  "seventeen  articles''  to  the 
Conference  of  Sultzbach,  as  a  "  sufficient  declaration,"  in 
1529.  Some  thought  that  certain  articles  not  found  in  the 
Bible  should  be  rejected,  and  Luther  himself  had  omitted 
them.  Among  these  was  the  Roman  Trinity  instead  of  the 
Father,  Sou  and  Holy  Ghost.  Storr  and  Flatt's  Biblical 
Theolog}'.  Rev.  S.  S.  Scmucher,  D.  D.,  of  the  Theological 
School  in  Gettysburg,  Penn.,  states  as  follows,  p.  301. 
ISote. 

LUTHER  OBJECTS  TO  THE  TRINITY. 

A  dangerous  doctrine,  leading  to  Tritheism.  The  reformers 
adopted  it  to  avoid  the  charge  of  Arianism,  and  are  charged  with 
both  Tritheism  and  Arianism. 

"  i\Iuch  was  said  about  the  time  of  the  Reformation, 
concerning  the  tendency  of  these  terms  (Trinity,  three 
persons,  etc.)  to  lead  to  Tritheism;  and  among  the  advo- 
cates for  their  expulsion  from  theological  disquisition 
might  be  mentioned  a  number  of  th«  first  divines  of  the 
age,  not  excepting  Hunnius,  and  even  Luther  himself;  yet, 
to  prevent  the  charge  of  Arianism  or  Socinianism,  which 
he  knew  his  enemies  would  eagerly  seize  the  least  pre- 
text to  prefer  against  them,  Luther  yielded  to  Melanc- 
thons  wishes^  (There  you  have  the  true  reason.  The  Italics 
are  mine.)  and  in  the  Augsburg  Confession  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity  is  couched  in  the  old  scholastic  terms.  'We 
found  it  in  use  (said  Dr.  Miller,  of  later  times),  and  not 
knowing  a  better  term  for  the  purpose  intended,  we  liavo 
cheerfully  adopted  and  continue  to  use  it  still ;  we  by  no 
means  understand  it,  however,  in  a  gross  or  carnal  sense.'" 
Storr  and  Flatt's  Biblical  Theology,  Gettysburg  Theo- 
logical School,  p.  301. 

Professor  Stuart,  of  Andover,  the  Apostle  of  American 
Protestantism,  agrees  with  Luther.     He  says: 

"To  apply  the  word  person  to  the  distinctions  in  the 


484  CHURCH  history. 

Godhead  inevitably  leads  to  Tritlieism.  However  one 
may  hold  to  words  and  forms  of  expression,  it  is  phiin  tliat 
while  he  makes  such  an  application  of  the  word  persons 
to  the  Godhead,  lie  in  fact  admits  Trilheisin."  Stuart  on 
Hebrews  1:  1,  2,  pp.  546,  547. 

THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH,  FATHERS,  AND  ALL  CREEDS  ARIAN  ! 

Luther  had  cause  to  fear  being  called  an  Arian  ;  "Who  has  not? 

Stuart  says,  "  the  Nicene  fathers  and  Greek  commentators,  one 
and  all,  held  that  Christ,  as  to  his  divine  nature  was  derived  from 
the  Father,"  (''a  derived  God)  and  therefore  can  not  have  su- 
preme dignity  ascribed  to  him.  This  is  indeed  the  legitimate  in- 
fei'ence  from  the  Nicene  Creed."  "  Keal  divinity,  although  not 
siijircme  divinity,  they  undoubtedly  meant  to  ascribe  to  Christ." 

"I  will  not  aver  that  these  are  Arians  and  deny  the  divinity 
who  believe  this ;  but  I  must  say  that  for  myself,  if  I  admitted 
this,  I  could  make  no  serious  objection  to  the  system  of  Arius." 
Stuart. — Heb  1 :  2.     Rom.  1 :  4. 

WHAT  DO  "  ARIANS  "  BELIEVE  OF  CHRIST  AND  HIS  GLORY? 

Dr.  Clarke  says,  "Refined  Arians,  with  some  of  whom  I  am 
personally  acquainted,  are  quite  willing  to  receive  all  that  can  be 
said  of  the  dignity  and  glory  of  Christ's  nature,  provided  we  admit 
the  doctrine  of  eternal  sonship,  and  omit  the  word  unorigiuated." 
"  I  know  not  any  Scripture  fairly  interpreted,  that  states  the  di- 
vinity of  our  Lord,  to  be  begotten  of  God,  or  to  be  the  Son  op 
God. — a  trinity  of  persons  appears  to  me  to  belong  essentially  to 
the  eternal  Godhead — of  this  the  old  Testament  is  full,  but  the 
distinction  was  not  fully  evident  till  the  incarnation.  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke,  the  Methodist  Commentator. — Heb.  1 :  8. 

Luther  admitted  trinity  into  his  creed,  but  really  believed  in 
the  Son  of  God,  the  faith  falsely  called  Arian. 

'■''Baptism.  The  primitive  mode  was  probably  by  im- 
mersion. The  dJsc'ples  of  our  Lord  could  understand  his 
command  in  no  other  manner  than  as  enjoining:  immersion  ; 
for  the  baptism  of  John,  to  which  Jesus  himself  submitted, 
as  also  the  earlier  baptism  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  was 
performed  by  dipping  tiie  subject  into  cold  water.  *  *  *  * 
And  that  they  actualy  did  so  understand  it,  is  proved  part- 
ly by  those  passages  which  evidently  allude  to  immersion, 
when  they  had  come  up  out  of  the  water  (river) — are 
buried  with  him  by  baptism,  so  that  as  Christ  was  raised, 
etc., — and  j)artly  from  the  tact  that  immersion  was  so  cus- 
tomary in  the  ancient  church,  that,  even  in  the  third  cen- 
tury, the  baptism  of  the  sick  who  were  merely  sprinkled 


CARLOSTADT.  485 

■with  water  was  entirely  neglected  by  some,  and  by  others 
was  lliought  inlerior  to  the  baptism  of  those  wlio  were  in 
health,  and  who  bathed  tiiemselves  in  water.  This  is  evi- 
dent I'roin  Eusebius,  L.  vi.  cap.  43,  where  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing extract  of  a  letter  of  the  Roman  Bishop  Cornelius : 
*Novatas  received  baptism  on  a  sick-bed,  by  aspersion,  if 
it  can  be  said  that  such  a  person  received  baptism.'  No 
person  who  had,  during  sickness,  received  baptism  by  as- 
persion, was  admitted  to  tiie  clerical  office.  Moreover,  the 
old  custom  of  immersion  was  also  retained  a  long  time  in 
the  Western  church,  at  least  in  the  case  of  those  who  were 
not  indisposed.  And  even  alter  aspersion  liad  been  fully 
introduced  in  a  part  of  the  Western  churches,  there  yet 
remained  several  who  for  some  time  adhered  to  the  ancient 
custom.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  certainly  to  he 
himented  that  Luther  was  not  able  to  accomplish  his  wish 
with  regard  to  the  introduction  of  immersion  in  baptism, 
as  he  had  done  in  the  restoration  of  the  wine  in  the  eucha- 
rist.  *  *  *  If  immersion  had  been  restored.  *  *  * 
The  change  of  the  ancient  custom  of  immersion,  although 
it  ought  not  to  have  been  made,  destroj^s  nothing."   p.  514. 

Had  they  taken  half  the  pains  to  establish  the  truth  in 
doctrine  which  they  took  to  kill  the  Anabaptists,  they  need 
not  to  have  killed,  but  to  have  called  them  brethren. 
Starr  and  Flatt's  Biblical  Theology,  a  Lutheran  work. 

Half  the  pains  to  establish  the  truth,  whicJi  they  took  to 
kill  Anabaptists,  would  have  made  them  brethren. 

A.  D.  1530.  Carlostadt,  archdeacon  of  Wittenberg,  a 
presbyter,  was  the  first  who  joined  Luther.  They  soon  fell 
out.  The  first  subject  of  contention  was  the  "real  pres- 
ence." Carlostadt  denied,  Luther  maintained  it.  A  second 
was  that  Carlostadt  gave  communion  in  both  kinds.  A  third, 
Carlostadt  had  pulled  down  crosses  and  pictures.  Luther 
held,  that  the  use  of  holy  images,  and  especially  of  the 
crucifix,  greatly  conduced  to  the  promotion  of  Christian 
piety.  Philip  Melancthon  being  recommended  to  the  pat- 
ronage of  Fre'leric,  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  as  a  youth  of 
superior  talents,  gained  admittance  into  the  University  of 
Wittenberg.  Melancthon,  for  learning,  and  skill  in  contro- 
versy, was  considered  as  a  pillar  of  the  church.  The  les- 
sons he  delivered  while  Greek  professor  in  that  universitj'" 
acquired  him  the  splendid  reputation  of  a  complete  and 
pleasing  scholar.    Naturally  moderate  in  his  manner  and 


486  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

temper,  he  tried  Ly  every  means  in  his  power  to  excuse 
the  defects  of  Lutlier's  conduct. 

Mosheim  says:  "To  speak  plainly,  Melancthon's  love  of 
peace  and  concord  seems  to  have  carried  him  beyond  what 
he  owed  to  truth."     Mosh.  ii.  82. 

Bernardino   Ochino,    General    of  the  Capuchin   order 

went  so  far  in  his  inquiries,  that  he  was  banished  by  the 

Helvetic    Church,   and   ended   his   days  bearing   witness 
against  the  Trinity. 

Mosheim  says:  "This  unfortunate  exile  retired  into 
Poland,  where  he  embraced  the  communion  of  the  anti- 
Trinitarians,  and  Anabaptists,  and  ended  his  days  in  1564. 
Mosheim,  ii.  126. 

A.  D.  1491.  Martin  Bucer.  His  talents,  his  knowledge 
of  languages,  of  Belles  Lettres,  and  theology  was  great. 
He  opened  a  public  school,  in  which  he  delivered  theological 
lectures.  In  that  drudging  exercise  he  labored  for  twenty 
years,  till  it  brought  him  into  difficulties,  which  obliged 
him  to  quit  his  station.  Cranmer  being  informed  ol  his  dis. 
tress,  invited  him  to  England,  where  he  took  up  and  con- 
tinued his  theological  lectures,  till  he  died  in  1551. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  it  required  the  united  ener- 
gies, force,  learning,  and  influence  to  crush  the  multitudes 
of  both  the  learned  and  pious  who  affirmed  the  doctrine  of 
the  First  commandment,  "  The  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord," 
against  the  trinity  of  divine  persons.  And  many  of  the 
most  learned  men  of  the  age  were  put  to  the  flames. 

Calvin  was  born  at  Noyon,  in  France,  in  1509.  His  fa- 
ther intended  him  for  the  ministry,  and  sent  him  to  Paris 
He  went  through  his  lower  studies,  and  obtained  two  be- 
nefices. After  he  left  Paris  he  applied  to  the  study  of  the  law, 
first  at  Orleans,  and  then  at  Bourges.  Here  he  adopted 
the  reformed  doctrines.  Selfishness  would  have  prompted 
him  to  dissemble ;  but  he  resigned  his  two  livings,  and  re- 
tired  to  Switzerland.  At  Basil  he  reviewed  his  sentiments 
on  religion,  and  arranged  them  into  a  system,  which  he 
published  in  a  single  volume,  entitled  his  Institutes, 
He  differs  from  Luther  in  three  material  points:     1st,  On 


RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY.  487 

Free  "Will;  2d,  on  the  Eucharist,  in  which  he  agreed  with 
Ziiingle  ;  and  3d,  on  the  Form  of  Worship,  in  which  he  has 
no  priest,  altar,  sacrifice,  ornament,  or  ceremony.  In  his 
manner,  Calvin  was  more  gentle  than  either  Zuingle  or 
Luther,  though  equally  intolerant,  as  appears  in  his  caus. 
ing  Michael  Servetus,  a  Spanish  physician,  to  be  burnt 
alive  at  Geneva,  for  errors  against  the  blessed  Trinity. 
For  the  space  of  twenty-three  years,  he  exercised  such  an 
absolute  sway  over  the  citizens,  that  he  was  called  the 
Pope  of  Geneva.     Reeves,  463. 

Protestants  had  separated  rather  from  pOpery  than  from 
Romanism.  They  retained  all  the  Catholic  creeds,  and 
much  of  their  spirit.  The  opposition  to  a  thorough  re- 
formation might  be  excused,  as  the  efiect  of  ill-timed  pru- 
dence ;  but  to  re-establish  in  creeds  what  they  did  not 
believe,  and  to  persecute  others  for  teaching  what  they 
also  really  believed;  and  to  re-establish  the  reign  of  creeds 
and  the  commandments  of  men,  by  the  slaughter  of  other 
Christians,  can  not  be  excused.  They  thus  were  not  only 
the  occasion  of  the  slaughter  of  over  50,000  people  in 
Germany  alone,  but  entailed  upon  the  world  a  multitude 
of  conflicting  creeds,  to  the  detriment  of  Christian  union, 
Bible  knowledge,  and  evangelical  obedience. 

A.  D.  1525.  Miinzer^  a  reformer,  says  Mosheim,  was 
at  the  head  of  a  ''prodigious  multitude."  He  declared  for 
entire  religious  liberty.  When  attacked  by  the  State 
troops  he  resisted,  and  his  followers  were  overthrown,  and 
he  was  put  to  death.  This  reformer  received  the  degree 
of  Master  of  Arts  at  Wittenberg;  and  while  Luther  was 
secreted  in  Wartburg,  he  was  boldly  preaching.  In  1523 
the  authorities  in  Arlstedt  forbade  the  people  to  attend  his 
ministry.  But  so  many  flocked  to  hear  him  that  in  1524 
the  elector  of  Saxony  summoned  him  to  appear  at  Weimar, 
and  the  authorities  of  Arlstedt  were  ordered  to  remove 
him  from  the  city.  He  then  appeared  at  Muhlhausen, 
where  the  population  became  his  proselytes;  and  when  the 
city  council  forbade  his  preaching,  the  people  appointed  a 
new  council. 


488  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

May  15,  1525.  The  Proteslant  princes  sent  a  force 
against  tliem,  and  slew  from  5,000  to  7000,  and  took  Mun- 
zer  and  put  him  to  the  rack.  Twenty-four  others  of  the 
leaders  of  these  Anabaptists  were  executed.  Munzer 
behaved  with  the  greatest  pusillanimity,  and  was  unable 
even  to  pronounce  the  creed  at  the  execution.     Ency.  Am. 

Mosheim  says  :  '-The  severest  laws  were  enacted  against 
them  for  the  second  time,  in  consequence  of  which  the  in- 
nocent and  the  guilty  were  involved  in  the  same  terrible 
fate,  and  prodigious  numbers  were  devoted  to  death  in  the 
most  dreadful  forms."     ii.  35. 

"The  magistrates  of  Zurich,  in  1525,  denounced  capital 
punishment  against  this  riotous  sect."     p.  130. 

One  Van  Geelan  undertook  resistance;  but  says  the 
historian : 

"  After  an  obstinate  resistance,  he  was  surrounded  with 
his  whole  troop,  who  were  put  to  death  in  the  severest  and 
most  dreadful  manner,  to  serve  as  examples  to  the  other 
branches  of  the  sect,  who  were  exciting  commotions  of  a 
like  nature  in  Friseland,  Groningen,  and  other  provinces 
and  cities  in  the  Netherlands."     ii.  131. 

"While  the  terrors  of  death,  in  the  most  dreadful  forms, 
were  presented  to  the  view  of  this  miserable  sect,  and 
numbers  of  them  were  executed  every  day  without  a  pro- 
per distinction  being  made  between  the  innoceiit  and  the 
guilty,  those  who  escaped  the  severity  of  justice  were  in 
the  most  discouraging  situation  that  can  Avell  be  imagined. 
On  the  one  hand,  they  beheld,  with  sorrow,  all  their  hopes 
blasted  by  the  total  defeat  of  their  brethren  at  Munster; 
and,  on  the  other,  they  were  tilled  by  the  most  anxious 
apprehensions  of  the  perils  that  threatened  them  on  all 
sides.  In  this  critical  situation  they  derived  much  comfort 
and  assistance  from  the  counsels  and  zeal  of  MennoSimonis, 
a  native  of  Friseland,  who  had  formerly  been  a  popish 
priest,  and,  as  he  himself  confesses,  a  notorious  profligate. 
This  man  went  over  to  the  Anabaptists,  at  first,  in  a  clan- 
destine manner,  and  frequented  their  assemblies  with  the 
utmost  secresy;  but,  in  1430,  he  threw  off  the  mask,  re- 
signed his  rank  and  office  in  the  Romish  Church,  and  pub- 
licly embraced  their  communion.  From  this  period  to  the 
end  of  his  days,  that  is,  during  the  space  of  twenty  five 
years,  he  traveled  from  one  country  to  another  with  his 
wife  and  children,  exercising  his  ministry  under  a  series 
of  pressures  and  calamities  of  various  kinds,  and  constant- 


DROWNING   BAPTISTS.  489 

ly  exposed  to  the  clanger  of  fallinc;  a  victim  to  tlie  severity 
of  the  laws.  East  and  West  Friseland,  together  with  the 
province  of  Groningen,  were  tirst  visited  by  the  zealous 
apostle  of  the  Anabaptists;  thence  he  directed  his  course 
into  Holland,  Guelderland,  Brabant,  Westphalia,  and  as  far 
as  the  Baltic  Sea  and  Lavonia.  He  was  very  successful 
with  persons  of  all  ranks  and  characters,  and  extremely 
zealous  in  promotiiig  practical  religion  and  virtue,  which 
he  recommended  by  his  example,  as  well  as  by  his  j)re- 
cepts.  A  man  of  such  talents  and  dispositions  could  not 
fail  to  attract  the  admiration  of  the  people,  and  to  gain  a 
great  number  of  adherents,  wherever  he  exercised  his 
ministry,  by  his  great  learning  and  deep  piety."     i.  131. 

Moslieim  says:  '-There  were  certain  sects  and  doctors, 
against  whom  the  zeal,  vigilance  and  severity  of  Catholics, 
Lutherans   and  Calvinists   were  united,   and,  in    opposing 
whose  settlement  and   progress,  these  three  communions, 
forgetting    their  dissensions,  joined   their   most   vigorous 
counsels   and   endeavors.     The   objects   of   their  common 
aversion  were  the  Anal^aptists,  and  those  who  denied  the 
divinity  of  Christ,  and  a  trinity  of  persons  in  the  Godhead." 
A.  D.  1525.     A  conference  was  held  by  the  reformers, 
which   condemned   the   Baptists.     "After  this    conference 
the  senate  warned  the  peoi)le  to  desist  from  the  practice 
of    re-baptizing.      But   all    was   in    vain.     They    decreed, 
therefore,  that  in  future  all  persons  who  professed  Ana- 
baptism,    or   harbored    the    professors    of    that    doctrine 
should  be  punished  with  death."     "Manzius  was  drowned 
at  Zurich,  upon  the  sentence  pronounced  by  Zuingle  in 
these  four  words.  Qui   iterum  inergit,  tnergatur  ',    that  is 
he  that  rebaptizes  with  water,  let  him  be  drowned  in  the 
water."     Yet  Zuingle  pleads  that  he  "  entreated  the  mag- 
istrates not  to  pass  a  severe  edict  against  them."     Zuingle 
Bajjtismo. 

Luther  also  was  moderate  about  putting  them  to  death 
but  he  denounced  them  in  words  of  malignant  fury. 

Zuingle  says:  "After  that  conference,  which  was  indeed 
the  tenth,  beside  many  others,  both  ])ublic  and  private; 
our  very  renowned  senate  decreed,  that  'whoever  should 
rebaptize  any  person,  should  himself  be  drowned  in  water.'" 
Mil.  ii.  236,  238. 

Erasmus,  the  papist,  said :  "  The  reformers  show  a  most 


490  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

wonderful  zeal  against  punishing  heretics  with  death; 
whereas  they  themselves  inflict  capital  punishment  on  the 
Anabaptists,  a  people  against  whom  there  is  little  to  be 
said,  and  concerning  Avhom  we  are  assured  there  are  many 
who  have  been  reformed  from  the  worst  to  the  very  best 
lives;  and  though  they  may  foolishly  err  in  certain  opinions, 
yet  tliey  have  never  stormed  towns  nor  churches,  nor  en- 
tered into  any  combinations  against  their  governors." 

This  apology  for  the  poor  Baptists  irritates  Milner,  the 
Protestant  bigot,  who  exclaims  : 

"What  extraordinary  lengths  did  his  dislike  of  the  Re- 
formers carry  Erasmus!  He  knew  very  well  the  seditious 
character  of  the  Anabaptists  in  general ;  yet  how  artfully 
does  he  here  apologise  for  them." 

Alas!  we  are  forever  doomed  to  disappointment  in  this 
world.  There  are  ever  here  manitbld  tares  to  the  wheat. 
Luther  was  moderate,  but  still  on  the  wrong  side. 

"  Satan  rages,"  said  he  ;  "  we  have  need  of  your  prayers. 
The  new  sectarians,  called  Anabaptists,  increase  in  number, 
and  display  great  external  appearances  of  strictness  of 
life,  as  also  great  boldness  in  death,  whether  they  sufierby 
fire  or  by  water."     Milner,  ii.  535,  540. 

Manzius,  a  man  of  great  learning  and  deep  piety, 
"ventured."  says  Milner,  ''to  rebaptize  a  few."  "He  was 
apprehended  by  the  order  of  the  magistrates,  and  drowned 
in  the  river,  January  5,  1527.  A  little  before  his  execu- 
tion, he  praised  God  that  he  was  permitted  to  seal  the 
truth  by  his  death.  He  said,  the  death  of  the  faithful  was 
predicted  by  Christ.  Both  the  mother  and  the  brother  of 
Manzius  exhorted  him  to  finish  his  course  with  firmness; 
and  they  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing  him  sing  with  a 
loud  voice,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  waves,  and  say:  "Into 
thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit."     Milner,  ii.  539. 

For  many  years  death  was  the  penalty  for  immersing. 
We  read  of  candidates  desiring  for  months  to  be  immersed, 
but  prevented  by  the  police.  Sometimes  they  would  go 
to  distant  neighborhoods,  but  still  fail.  One,  feeling  called 
to  the  ministry,  crossed  the  sea  to  England  to  get  baptized. 
The  word  is  just  announced  iu  this  day's  paper,  November 


ILLUSTRIOUS   NAMES.  491 

19,  1870,  that  religious  liberty  has  been  granted  to  the 
Baptists  in  North  Germany. 

A.  D,  1564.  "The  starry  Galileo,  with  his  woes,"  is  so 
incorporated  in  the  history  of  tlie  moving  world,  that  some 
facts  of  his  history  are  as  interesting  as  useful. 

Galileo  was  born  in  Pisa,  Italy,  February  28,  1564.     In 
1588  he   was  appointed  professor  of  Mathematics  in  the 
University  of  Pisa.      In  1592  he  was  appointed  professor 
at  Padua.     In  1604  he  taught  the  revolution  of  the  earth. 
In  1615  Pope  Paul  V.  denounced  him  to  the  Inquisition.     In 
1616  his  theory  was  condemned  as  heresy,  but  on  his  re- 
cantation his  life  was  spared.     In  1632  he  again  published 
his    theory,    and    was    again    condemned    for   heresy    by 
Pope   Urban  VIII.     The   Duke  of  Tuscany  preserved  his 
life,  but  he  died  a  i)rlsoner  in  1642.     Galileo's  heresy  is 
plainly  stated  in  the  decree  of  condemnation,  as  follows  • 
1.  The  proposition  that  the  sun  is  the  center  of  tiie  world 
and  immovable  from  its  place,  is  absurd,  philosophically 
false,  and  formally  heretical,  because  it  is  exjDressly  con- 
trary  to   the   Holy  Scrif)tures.     2.     The  proposition  that 
the  earth  is  not  the  center  of  the  world,  nor  immovable, 
but  that  it  moves,  and  also  with  a  diurnal  motion,  is  also 
absurd,  philosophically  false,  and,  theologically  considered, 
at  least  erroneous  in  faith.     Galileo  Galilei  was  condemned 
twice  :  first,  February  25,  1616,   and  again,  June  23,  1633. 
The  last  decree  is  quite  lengthy,  abounding  in  charges  of 
heresy,  and   signed  by  the  Cardinals  of  the  Court  of  the 
Inquisition  in  Konie.     The  cluster  of  names  of  those  who 
represented  the  church  in  deciding  that  the  earth  does  not 
move,  were  the  infallible  popes  Paul  V.  in  1615,  and  Urban 
VIII.  in  1632,   and  the  following  cardinals.     Tiie    record 
of    these  names  is  a  monument  of  eternal  infamy;     Felix, 
Cardinal  Di  Escola;  Desiderio,  Cardinal  Di  Cremona;  Ber- 
lingero.  Cardinal  Gessi;  Guido,  Cardinal  Bentivoglio ;  An- 
tonio,   Cardinal    S.    Onofrio;    Fabrico,    Cardinal    Verospi; 
Mar  Lino,  Cardinal  Ginatti. 

A.  D.  1545.     The  Council  of  Trent  assembled  on  the 
13th  of  December,  and  was  jprotracted  to  1563.     Trent  is  a 


492  CHURCH    IIISTOllY. 

city  of  Tyrol,  sixty-five  miles  north-west  of  Venice. 
Charles  V.  of  Germany  announced  a  council  at  Augs- 
burg iu  1530,  but  Paul  III.  called  it  together.  It  was 
forced  to  admit  some  Protestant  representatives.  Two 
hundred  and  fifty-five  prelates  signed  its  decrees. 
A.  D.  1546.  All  heretic?  were  ordered  to  be  slain.  In  Holland  and 
Frisland  alone,  over  30,000  suffered.  Cities  were  plundered  and 
fired,  women  were  stripped  naked  to  search  for  treasure ;  abused, 
slashed  in  the  face  with  knives,  their  arms  cut  off,  and  turned  naked 
into  the  blazing  street,  or  burned  in  their  houses — roofs,  rafters, 
floors*  and  families  all  burned  together  amid  insults  of  Catholics. 
Motley  186. 

Valentine  Gentile  was  burned  at  Berne  for  teaching  that  the  Son 
was  subordinate  to  the  Father. 

SUNDAY    SCHOOLS. 

A.  D.  1565,  Charles  Borromeo,  Archbishop  of  Milan,  a 
very  pious  and  virtuous  Catholic,  founded  Sunday  Schools 
in  every  parish  of  his  diocese.  Attempting  to  reform  the 
licentiousness  of  the  clergy,  a  monk  attempted  to  assassi- 
nate him.     He  died  iJ^ovember  3,  1594. 

CALVIN  AND  SERVETUS. KXTRACTS  FROM  MOSHEIM. 

"It  is  impossible  to  justify  the  conduct  of  Calvin  in  the 
case  of  Servetus,  whose  death  will  be  an  indelible  reproach 
upon  the  character  of  that  great  and  eminent  relbrmer. 
The  only  thing  that  can  be  alleged,  not  to  efface, 
but  to  diminish  his  crime,  is,  that  it  was  no  easy  mat- 
ter for  him  to  divest  himself  at  once  of  that  persecuting 
spirit  which  had  been  so  long  nourished  and  strengthened 
by  the  popish  religion. 

"As  to  Gribaldi  and  Alciat,  who  have  been  alreadj'- 
mentioned,  it  is  manifest  that  they  inclined  tov/ard  the 
Arian  system,  and  did  not  entertain  such  low  ideas  of  the 
person  and  dignity  of  Jesus  (Jhrist  as  those  which'  are 
adopted  among  the  Socinians. 

"So  early  as  the  year  1524,  the  divinity  of  Christ  was 
openly  denied  by  Louis  lletzer,  one  of  the  wandering  and 
fanatical  Anabaptists,  who,  about  three  years  afterward, 
suffered  death  at  Constance."     Mosh.  ii.  141. 

"At  first  they  held  chiefly  the  Arian  doctrine  concern- 
ing the  divine  nature,  maintaining  that  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  were  two  distinct  natures,  begotten  by  God 
the  Father,  and  subordinate  to  him. 


EXTRACTS    FROM    jrOSIIElM.  493 

"By  the  writings  of  Sociniis,  the  Arians,  who  had 
formerly  the  ujjper  liand  in  tlie  community  of  the  Unitari- 
ans, were  engaged  to  change  tlieir  sentiments  concerning 
the  nature  and  mediation  of  Christ.  It  is  true,  indeed, 
that  tlie  denomination  of  Socinian  was  not  as  yet  known. 
Those  who  were  afterwards  distinguished  by  this  title, 
passed  in  Poland,  at  the  time  of  which  we  now  sj)eak, 
under  the  name  of  Anabaptists,  because  they  admitted  to 
baptism  adult  persons  only,  and  also  rebaptized  those  who 
joined  them  from  other  Christian  churches. 

"The  short  summary  of  moral  doctrine  is  contained  in 
a  few  precepts,  and  expressed  for  the  most  part  in  the 
language  of  Scripture.  There  is  this  peculiarity  in  their 
moral  injunction,  that  they  jirohibit  the  taking  of  oaths 
and  the  repelling  of  injuries.  As  to  what  regards  ecclesi- 
astical discipline,  they  detine  it  thus:  'Ecclesiastical  dis- 
cipline consists  in  calling  frequently  to  the  remembrance 
of  every  individual,  the  duties  that  are  incumbent  upon 
him;  in  admonishing,  first  privately,  and  afterward,  if  that 
be  ineffectual,  in  a  public  manner,  before  the  whole  con- 
gregation, such  as  have  sinned  openly  against  God,  or 
ollended  their  neighbor;  and,  lastly,  in  excluding  from 
communion  of  the  church  the  obstinate  and  impenitent, 
that,  being  thus  covered  with  shame,  they  may  be  led  to 
repentance,  or,  if  they  remain  unconverted,  may  be  damned 
eternally. 

"They  divide  their  ministry  into  bishops,  deacons,  el- 
ders and  widows.  They  enumerate,  at  length,  the  duties 
of  husbands  and  wives,  old  and  young,  parents  and  chib 
dren,  masters  and  servants,  citizens  and  magistrates,  poor 
and  rich;  and  conclude  with  what  relates  to  the  admoni- 
tion of  ofl"enders,  and  their  exclusion  from  the  communion 
of  the  church,  in  case  of  obstinate  impeiulence.  TJieir 
sentiments  concerning  prayer  are,  generally  speaking, 
sound  and  rational.  But,  in  their  notion  of  baptism,  they 
differ  from  other  Christian  churches  in  this,  that  they  make 
it  to  consist  in  immersion  or  dipping,  and  emersion  or  ris- 
ing again  out  of  the  water,  and  maintain  that  it  ought  not 
to  be  administered  to  any  but  adult  persons.  'Baptism,' 
say  they,  'is  the  immersion  into  water,  and  the  emersion 
of  one  who  believes  in  the  gospel,  and  is  truly  penitent, 
pel  formed  in  the  name  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  or 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  alone;  by  Avhich  solemn  act 
the  person  baptized  publicly  acknowledgeth,  that  he  is 
cleansed  from  all  his  sins  through  the  mercy  of  God  the 


494:  CHURCH    HISTORY". 

Father,  by  the  blood  of  Clirist,  and  the  operation  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  to  the  end  that,  beiii^  engrafted  into  the  body 
of  Christ,  he  may  mortify  the  eld  Adam,  and  be  trans- 
formed into  the  image  of  the  new  and  heavenly  Adam,  in 
the  firm  assurance  of  eternal  life  after  the  resurrection.' 
Of  the  last  point,  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  they 
give  an  explication  that  will  be  readily  adopted  by  those 
who  embrace  the  doctrine  of  Zuingle. 

"Tliey  had  instruction  to  heads  of  families,  showing 
them  how  they  ought  to  proceed  in  order  to  maintain  and 
increase  in  their  houses  a  spirit  of  piety;  in  which  also 
their  devotion  is  assisted  by  forms  of  prayer,  composed  for 
morning,  evening,  and  other  occasions.  Before  their  sep- 
aration from  the  reformed  church  in  1565,  believed  in  a 
Trinity  of  some  kind  or  other,  and  had  not  gone  so  far  as 
totally  to  divest  Jesus  Christ  of  his  divinity.  Schoman 
was  a" doctor  of  great  authority  in  his  sect.  He  defended 
the  unity  of  God  the  P'ather  against  tiie  reformed,  who 
maintained  the  existence  of  a  three-fold  Deity.  Before 
the  year  last  mentioned,  he  and  his  Pinczovian  flock  were 
not  Socinians,  but  Arians  only. 

"John  Campanus,  a  native  of  Juliers,  disseminated,  at 
Wittenberg  and  other  places,  various  tenets  of  an  heretical 
aspect;  and  taught,  among  other  things,  that  the  Son  was 
inferior  to  the  Father,  and  that  the  Holy  Ghost  was  not  the 
title  of  a  divine  person,  but  a  denomination  used  to  denote 
the  nature  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son;  and  thus  did  this 
innovator  revive,  in  a  great  measure,  the  errors  of  the 
ancient  Arians."     ii.  141,  149. 

ENGLAND — RELATIONSHIP   OF   THE    PRINCES. 

Henry  VH.,  of  England,  married  liis  son  Arthur  to 
Catharine,  the  infant  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
of  Spain.  This  Catharine  was  aunt  to  the  Emperor  Charles 
v.,  of  Germany.  Arthur  the  prince  soon  died;  and  Henry 
married  his  next  son  (Henry  the  VIH.),  to  Catharine.  This 
is  the  noted  Henry  of  the  English  Church,  and  this  Catha- 
rine is  the  queen  mother  of  Mary,  called  the  "Bloody 
Queen  Mary."  Mary  was  half  sister  to  Elizabeth,  called 
good  "Queen  Bess." 


RELATIONSHIP  WITH  THE  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS.       495 


RELATIONSHIP  WITH  THE  QUEEN  OP  SCOTS. 

James  IV.,  of  Scotland,  married  Margaret,  the  oldest 
sister  of  Henry  VIIL,  in  1503.  This  James  was  slain  in 
the  battle  of  Floden  Field,  in  1513.  His  son,  James  V., 
married  Mary,  of  the  honse  of  Loraine,  a  noble  fam- 
ily in  France,  and  sister  to  the  Dnke  of  Guise,  who,  as  a 
commander,  successfully  resisted  Charles  V.,  took  Calais 
from  the  English,  for  a  time  governed  France,  and  was 
shot  by  a  Huguenot  nob'eman  of  Orleans,  when  he  attacked 
that  Protestant  city.  The  daughter  to  James  V.,  by  this 
marriage, was  Mary,  Queen  of  Scols,  born  in  1545. 

Henry  VIH.  had  married  Catharine,  the  aunt  of  the  Em- 
peror Charles;  and  when  Luther  published  his  work 
against  the  spurious  Catliolic  sacrament,  the  king,  by  a 
royal  reply,  gained  from  the  pope  the  proud  title  of  "De- 
fender of  the  Faith  ;"  but  now  the  king  desired  a  divorce. 
This  the  pope  could  readily  have  granted,  as  was  his  cus- 
tom in  such  cases,  she  having  been  betrothed  to  his  elder 
brother;  but  the  pope  feared  the  emperor.  Cranmer  ad- 
vised the  king  to  submit  the  question  to  the  divines  and 
universities  of  Europe.  The  greater  part  of  these  de- 
clared the  marriage  void;  but  the  treirbling  po^^e  refused 
his  sanction,  and  i^arliament,  approving  the  decision  of  the 
universities,  the  king  divorced  Catharine,  and  married  Anne 
Boleyn.  The  pope  sent  for  him  to  Home  to  answer,  but 
the  Parliament  decided,  in  1533,  that  there  should  be  no 
appeal  to  Rome,  or  respect  to  its  censures.  The  pope  then 
ollered  to  decide  in  Henry's  favor,  if  he  would  acknowl- 
edge his  authority.  The  poor  pope  issued  eleven  bulls 
confirming  the  appointment  of  Cranmer  archbishop.  But 
it  was  too  late.  In  1534  Parliament  declared  the  king 
the -supreme  head  of  the  English  Church;  and,  A.  D.  1536, 
the  king  gave  permission  to  have  the  Bible  translated, 
and  in  1537  ordered  its  reading;  still,  by  an  act  of  1543, 
the  common  people  were  not  permitted  to  read  it.  In 
1539  the  corrupt  monasteries,  or  priest's  brothels,  were  dis- 


496  cnuRcii  history. 

solved,  and  January  28,  1547,  Henry  VIII.  died.  Edward 
YL,  his  son,  prosecuted  the  work  of  reform;  and  in  1549  the 
marriage  of  the  clergy  was  legalized.  The  first  Christian 
ministers  did  not  prohibit  marriage ;  but  the  Roman  Cath- 
olics preferred  concubinage. 

Jortin  says:  "It  appears  that  in  those  days*  the  Arian 
clergy  were  generally  married  men,  and  lived  witli  their 
wives,  whilst  the  orthodox  were  strenuous  contenders  for 
the  celibacy  of  the  clerg3^  It  is  to  be  supposed  that  some 
of  these  ecclesiastics  humbly  contented  themselves  with 
common  strumpets,  or  other  men's  wives." 

Of  course  orthodox  here  signifies  heterodox,  and  Arian 
Christians. 

Henry  VIII.  was  no  Protestant,  and  he  did  not  fail  to 
punish  Protestansts  as  heretics.  He  also  punished  Fisher 
and  Moore,  who  were  Catholics,  for  denying  his  supremacy. 
Then  Pope  Paul  III.  excommunicated  Henry,  and  gave 
his  kingdom  to  an  invader.  Henry  soon  grew  jealous  of 
Anne  Boleyn,  and  she  was  beheaded,  and  her  body  was 
cast  into  an  old  chest,  and  buried  in  the  tower,  and  Henry 
the  next  day  married  Jane  Seymour,  of  whom  was  born 
Edward  VI.  A  council  decided  to  make  the  rule  of  faith  to 
consist  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  three  creeds,  the  Apos- 
tle's, Nicene,  and  Athanasian.  Lambert,  the  school-master, 
was  Ijprnt  for  opposing  Henry  in  a  discuss.ion  on  the  com- 
munion. On  the  death  of  Jane,  Henry  married,  by  proxy 
Anne  of  Cleves  ;  but  when  he  saw  her  he  refused  to  live 
with  her.  Siie  was  divorced,  and  he  married  Catharine 
Howard,  and  continued  to  persecute  the  Protestants  as 
heretics,  and  the  Romanists  as  traitors.  ''Those  opposed  to 
the  pope  were  burned,  and  those  who  were  for  him  \vere 
hanged." 

The  queen  (Catharine  Howard)  confessing  herself  an 
improper  person  to  be  a  true  wife,  was  divorced.  When 
James  V.,  his  brother-in-law,  of  Scotland,  died,  Henry  en- 
deavored to  marry  his  own  infant  son  Edward  (VI.)  to  the 
infant  princess  of  Scotland,  (Mary  Queen  of  Scots);  but 

♦Fourth  Century.    Jortin,  iii.  49. 


RELATIONSHIP    WITH   THE    QUEEN   OF    SCOTS.  497 

did  not  succeed.  Henry  married  Catharine  Parr;  and 
soon  after  condemned  to  the  flames  Ann  Ascue,  her  favor- 
ite, with  four  others.  Henry  died  as  he  lived,  a  Catholic. 
A.  D.  1547.  Edward  ascended  the  throne  at  the  age  of 
nine.  At  the  head  of  sixteen  executors  was  Cranmer,  who 
urged  on  the  Reformation;  but  still  heretics  were  commit- 
ted to  the  flames.  But  Edward  died  in  the  sixteenth  year 
of  his  age,  and  the  Protestants,  endeavoring  to  keep  the 
throne,  made  Lady  Jane  Gray  queen.  But  Mary,  his  half 
sister,  the  daughter  of  Catharine,  (Granddaughter  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella)  took  the  throne  and  put  Jane  and  her 
husband  and  her  father  and  many  others  to  death.  She 
married  Philip,  King  of  Spain,  and  re- established  popery, 
burning  Rogers,  Hooper,  Sanders,  Taylor,  Philpot,  Ferrar 
Ridley,  Latimer,  Cranmer,  and  many  others.  Five  bish- 
ops, twenty-one  clergymen,  eight  noblemen,  eighty-four 
tradesmen,  fifty-live  women,  four  children,  and  niany  other 
common  people.  "The  Catholics  were  very  much  elated 
They  endeavored4o  catch  the  Princess  Elizabeth  in  her 
words.     They  asked  her  of  the  real  presence.     She  replied  : 

"Christ  was  the  Word  that  spake  it, 
He  took  the  bread  and  brake  it ; 
And  wliat  that  Word  did  make  it, 
That  I  believe  and  take  it." 

A.  D.  1558.  Mary  died,  and  Elizabeth  came  to  the 
throne.  The  Catholics,  witli  longing,  thought  of  Mary 
Queen  of  Scotland.  Mary,  when  six  years  old,  was  car- 
ried to  France,  where,  in  1558,  the  very  year  of  the  death 
of  "Bloody  Queen  Mary  of  England,"  she  was  married  to 
the  weak  Prince  Francis  (H.),  and  by  the  death  of  Henry- 
n.,  the  following  year  became  queen.  The  government 
being  managed  by  her  powerful  uncle,  the  Duke  of  Guise. 
Her  uncle  died  in  1560.  Li  1561  she  returned  to  reign  in 
Scotland  ;  perhaps  in  England.  Both  of  Henry's  daughters 
had  once  been  declared  illegitimate.  Elizabeth  was  a 
Protestant,  and  the  Catholics  jDreferred  Mary.  But  the 
young  Catholic  queen  could  not  govern  her  own  kingdom. 
In  1563  her  uncle,  the  Duke  of  Guise,  was  shot.  Her  no- 
32 


498  CHURCH  history. 

bleinen  were  many  of  them  Protestants.  Her  second 
marriage  was  unfortunate.  Her  lovers  were  too  persist- 
ent, her  enemies  too  numerous.  She  could  not  retard  the 
opposition  to  popery.  She  fled,  and  cast  herself  upon  the 
mercy  of  her  rival,  Elizabeth.  Through  jealousy,  or  fear, 
she  was  kept  prisoner  eighteen  years,  and  beheaded  in 
1587,  as  a  person  dangerous  to  the  crown  of  Elizabeth. 
On  her  deathbed  Elizabeth  named  Mary's  son  as  her  suc- 
cessor; and  in  1604,  seventeen  years  after  his  mother  was 
beheaded,  James  VI.  of  Scotland  (son  of  Mary,  Queen  of 
Scots,  great-grandson  of  Margaret,  the  daughter  of  Henry 
VH.  and  sister  of  Henry  VHL),  became  James  I.  of  Eng- 
land, united  with  the  national  church  of,  and  united  the 
two  kingdoms,  firmly  established  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  and  gave  us  our  present  beautiful  translation  of 
the  Bible. 

The  famous  Gunpowder  Plot,  headed  by  the  Jesuits, 
seems  to  have  been  the  desperate  resource  of  expiring 
hope.  It  was  designed  by  the  Catholics.  Nine  men,  all 
Catholics,  were  convicted.  They  justify  the  priest  Garnet 
for  keeping  the  secret  of  the  design,  because  revealed  to 
him  in  the  confessional.  Wh}'^  in  confessional?  To  obtain 
absolution.  Why  not  reveal  the  plot?  "It  would  have 
been  sacrilege  "!  I !  By  tiieir  own  admission,  priests  may 
be  privy  to  a  plot  of  wholesale  murdet,  and  grant  indul- 
gence, keep  the  secret,  and,  when  discoveued,  "die  martyrs 
to  their  religious  fidelity  in  the  exercise  of  their  ministe- 
rial functions."  From  such  ministers,  such  martyrs,  sucii 
religion,  and  such  confessional,  "good  Lord  deliver  us.'' 
See  Reeves'  Catholic  Church  History,  pp.  577,682.  In  the 
succeeding  reign,  Charles  I.  was  able  to  succeed  in  noth- 
ing, aiul  when  brought  to  the  scaiTold,  the  government  fell 
into  the  hands  of  Cromwell,  who  opposed  the  Romans  in 
their  own  spirit;  but  on  the  restoration,  both  Charles  II. 
and  his  successor,  James  II.,  kept  alive  the  drooping  hopes 
of  popery.  But  William,  prince  of  Orange,  in  1688,  so 
completely  beat  back  the  power,  that  it  has  never  since 
been  able  to  make  a  successful  demonstration  there. 


SEVENTEENTH   AND   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURIES.  499 

The  Protestants  were  not  successful  in  France.  One 
of  lier  monarchs  favored  the  Reformation;  but  there  has 
never  been  sufficient  stability  to  secure  liberty,  or  suffi- 
cient learniug  to  establish  true  religion,  or  religion  to  es- 
tablish a  reformation.  Thousands  of  Protestants  have 
been  cruelly  slaughtered  there. 

seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries. 

Milton,  Locke,  Newton,  Whitby,  Watts,  Whiston,  Clarke, 
Clayton,  Lardner,  and  others  of  this  age,  form  a  constel- 
lation of  glory  before  whose  light  other  minds  appear  dim 
and  dark.  Though  the  laws  compelled  conformity  to  the 
State  religion,  they  threw  floods  of  light  upon  the  dark 
superstition  which  inundated  all  the  Lord's  heritage,  and 
were  advocates  of  religious  as  well  as  political  liberty,  in 
an  age  of  inquisitions  and  oppression.  It  is  the  boast  of 
the  slavish  priests  of  superstition,  who  bow  to  the  para- 
doxes of  popery  for  place  and  position,  that  the  mighty 
intellects  of  Milton,  Locke,  and  Newton,  bowed  to  the 
shrine  of  our  Savior;  but  they  fail  to  tell  them  that  not 
one  of  those  giants  of  thought  ever  stooped  to  do  rever- 
ence to  the  creeds:  but  that  they  all  abhorred  them. 
Even  the  learned  Erasmus  attributed  to  the  Demon  of 
Greeds  the  religious  slavery  of  the  world.     Erasmus  says: 

"  Quid  cogitahunt  {a  fide  Chvistiani  alieni)  si  viderint 
rem.  usq^ue  adeo  difficilem  esse,  nt  nunquam  satis  discussum, 
sit  quib'us  vei'his.,  de  Christo  sit  loquenduni? perinde  quasi 
mini  nroroso  quopiain,  ages  Doemone,  quein  in  tuani  ipsius 
perniciem  evocaris,  si  quid  te  fefellerit  in  verhis p>r(Bscrip- 
tis,  ac  non potius  cuni  clementissitno  Servatore,  qui  a  nobis 
vroeter  puram  simplicemque  vitatn  nihil  exigit.  Epist,  329." 
Jor.  ii.  49. 

That  is,  What  will  they  think,  aliens  to  the  Christian 
faith,  when  they  see  that  it  is  never  finished  ;  that  you  can 
never  have  discussion  enough  to  decide  in  what  words  we 
shall  speak  of  Christ.  Equally  as  if  you  acted  with  a  mo- 
rose demon,  whom  you  called  out  to  your  own  ruin  if  any 
thing  escaped  your  observation  in  the  prescribed  words, 
and  not  with  a  most  clement  Savior  who  requires  only  a 
pure  and  simple  life  ;  are  the  blessed  words  of  Erasmus. 


500  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

A.  D.  1633.  John  Locke,  of  England,  was  a  celebrated 
philosopher,  and  an  enlightened  Christian ;  an  ornament  to 
English  literature  and  to  the  church.  His  "  Essay  on  the 
Reasonableness  of  Christianity,"  and  his  paraphrase  and 
notes  on  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  have  laid  the  foundation  of 
a  more  enlightened  school  of  scriptural  commentators. 
He  did  not  copy,  as  too  many  do,  Roman  theology,  but 
gave  a  more  enlightened  doctrine.  He  tlius  paraphrases 
Rom.  9:  5:  "Christ  is  come;  he  who  is  over  all,  God  be 
blessed  forever."  God  is  God.  His  Essay  on  the  Human 
Understanding  opened  the  true  philosophy  of  the  mind. 
His  views  of  religious  and  political  liberty  excited  the 
jealousy  of  kings  and  priests.  On  Christian  union  and 
creed  his  words  were  as  stars  in  the  dark  night.  He  said: 
"The  Bible  is  all  pure,  all  sincere,  nothing  too  much,  noth- 
ing too  little.  How  that  can  be  called  the  Church  of 
Christ  which  is  established  upon  laws  which  are  not  his, 
and  which  excludes  such  persons  from  its  communion  aa 
he  will  one  day  receive  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  I  can 
not  understand." 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  was  born  in  1042,  and  died  1727. 

"  Nature  and  nature's  laws  lay  hid  in  night ; 
God  .said,  Let  Newton  be,  and  all  was  light." 

Newton  was  the  greatest  wonder  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Dr.  Chalmers  said  :  "  We  see  in  his  theology  the 
spirit  and  principle  which  gave  all  its  stability  to  his  phil- 
osophy." He  wrote  extensively  on  "  the  two  corruptions 
of  Scripture,"  viz.:  the  two  heavenly  witnesses,  1  John  5: 
7,  and  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  1  Tim.  3:16;  showing 
that  the  former  text  and  the  term  God  in  the  latter,  were 
interpolations  to  sustain  the  Trinity  (see  his  theological 
works).  His  ''Paradoxical  Questions  Concerning  Athana- 
sius,"  "Rule  of  Faith,"  "Dominion  of  the  Clergy,"  and 
many  other  theological  works,  were  smothered,  as  sup- 
posed, by  his  executors,  because  of  their  support  of  the 
ancient  faith,  against  the  Trinity  and  the  baptism  of  infants. 
"He  says  that  the  j^lace  from  which  they  (the  ancients)  at 


SEVENTKENTH    AND   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURIES.  501 

first  tried  to  derive  the  Trinity,  was  the  formula  of  baptism." 
He  defends  the  "  Arians,"  so-called  by  their  enemies,  but 
the  body  of  whom  comprised  the  true  church,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  apostacy  of  the  Catholic  Church.  He  says,  "If 
we  receive  the  witness  of  men,  the  three-fold  witness  of 
God,  which  he  bears  of  his  Son,  by  declaring  at  his  bap- 
tism. This  is  my  beloved  Son,  and  by  raising  him  from  the 
dead,  and  by  pouring  out  his  Spirit  upon  us,  is  greater,  and 
therefore  ought  to  be  more  readily  received." 

We  add  nothing  to  his  praise  in  pronouncing  him  the 
greatest  genius  in  the  world,  unrivaled  in  natural  philoso- 
phy, the  prince  of  mathematicians,  and  a  theologian  to 
whom  theologians  bowed  with  reverence.  Though  not  a 
priest,  the  priests  called  him  the  best  divine  of  jLhe  church, 
and  he  adorned  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 

Daniel  Whitby  was  born  in  England  in  1638.  He  pub- 
lished his  "  Protestant  Reconciler  "  in  1C83,  pleading  Chris- 
tian Union,  He  urged  the  necessity  of  giving  up  all  but 
the  Bible.  His  book  he  was  afterward  obliged  to  abjure 
and  it  was  burnt  by  the  Oxford  University.  He  published 
an  able  commentary  on  the  Scriptures  entirely  in  advance 
of  the  age,  containing  his  renunciation  and  refutation  of 
Calvinism.  In  1718  he  published  a  reply  to  Bull  on  the 
Nicene  Creed,  showing  that  the  anti-Nicene  fathers  held 
the  doctrine  of  the  subordination  of  the  Son,  which  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  Scriptures.  In  1727.  one  year  after  his 
death,  his ''Last  Thoughts  "  were  published,  proving  that 
Trinitarians  held  the  doctrine  anciently  condemned  as  Sa. 
bellian,  viz:  that  Christ  is  God,  manifested  as  a  Son;  but 
not  a  separate  person  from  the  Father.  This  doctrine,  now 
60  popular,  has  never  been  endorsed  in  any  creed  of  au- 
thority, but  has  ever  been  branded  as  heresy.  He  defend- 
ed Dr.  S.  Clarke's  view  of  the  Trinity,  and  published  sever- 
al volumes  of  his  sermons.  He  died  in  his  eighty-eighth 
year. 

Mosheira  says:     "The  Trinity,  in  which  the  Church  of' 
England    and  the   Catholics  agreed,   employed  at  various 
times  the  pens  of  controversal  theologians.     Some  thought 


502  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

it  incomprehensible,  others  labored  to  explain  it,  others 
endeavored  to  prove:  first  that  it  was  not  tlie  opinion  of 
the  early  Christians.  Second,  that  it  was  introduced  by 
artifice  and  imposture,  in  repugnance  to  repeated  declara- 
tions of  both  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments."  Had 
these  lived  in  the  days  of  Theodosius,  Mr.  Milner  would 
have  justified  the  Catholic  tyrant  in  committing  them  to 
the  flames. 

William  Whiston  died  in  1752.  The  Arians  found  a 
learned  and  resolute  patron  in  "William  Whiston,  Professor 
of  Mathematics  in  the  University  of  Cambi'idge,  who  de- 
fended their  doctrine  in  various  productions,  and  chose 
rather  to  resign  his  chair  than  to  renounce  his  opinions' 
About  the  year  1706,  he  began  to  doubt  the  eternity  and 
omniscience  of  Christ.  This  led  him  to  review  the  popu- 
lar doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  To  execute  this,  he  read  the 
New  Testament  twice  over,  and  all  the  genuine  monu- 
ments of  the  Christian  religion  prior  to  the  conclusion  of 
the  second  century.  By  this  he  was  led  to  think  that 
at  the  incarnation  of  Christ  the  Logos  supplied  the  place 
of  the  human  soul ;  that  the  eternity  of  the  Son  of  God 
was  not  distinct  from  the  Father  by  eternal  generation, 
but  existed  in  the  Father,  as  his  word;  that  Christ's  real 
generation  took  place  some  time  before  the  creation  of 
the  world;  that  the  Council  of  Nice  established  no  other 
eternity  of  Christ;  and  that  the  Arian  doctrine,  on  those 
points,  was  the  original  doctrine  of  Christ  himself,  of  his 
apostles,  and  of  the  primitive  Christians.  Dr.  Whiston 
was  confirmed  in  these  sentiments  by  Novatian's  Treatise 
Concerning  the  Trinity ;  and  especially  by  the  perusal  of 
the  "Apostolical  Constitution."  This  learned  and  upright 
man  was  a  sniferer  for  the  faith.  He  was  removed  from 
his  theological  and  pastoral  functions,  and  from  his  Mathe- 
matical professorship.  "I  mention  this  as  an  instance  of 
the  nnl'air  proceedings  of  immoderate  zeal."  Maclaine 
and  Mosheim. 

Dr.  Whiston  afterward  united  with,  and  was  defendei 


SEVENTEENTH    AND   EIGnTEENTH    CENTURIES.  503 

of,  the  Baptists,  but  never  advocated  baptism  as  a  test  of 
fellowship.     He  labored  for  union.     Mosh.  296,  315. 

Honesty.  While  one  day  in  company  with  several  of 
the  heads  of  State,  the  question  arising  whether  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  could  be  honest,  and  Whiston,  not  taking 
part  in  the  conversation,  was  pressed  for  his  opinion, 
replied:  "Honesty  is  the  best  policy,  and  if  the  Secre- 
tary would  try  it,  he  would  find  it  so."  The  Secretary  re- 
plied:  "It  might  do  for  a  fortnight,  but  it  would  not  do  for 
a  month,"  Whiston  annswered  inquiringly,  "Did  you 
ever  try  it  for  a  fortnight?"  !! !  And  as  the  Secretary  could 
not  give  an  affirmative  answer,  the  question  was  decided 
against  him.  Reader,  honesty  is  the  best  policy.  If  you  will 
try  it,  you  will  find  it  so.  Queen  Caroline  (wife  of  George 
III.)  asked  Whiston  what  people  in  general  said  of  her. 
He  replied,  that  they  justly  esteemed  her  as  a  lady  of 
great  abilities,  a  patron  of  learned  men,  and  a  friend  to 
the  poor.  "But  no  one  is  without  faults — pray,  which 
are  mine?"  Whiston  begged  to  be  excused  speaking  on 
that  subject;  but  she  insisting,  he  said:  "Her  majesty 
did  not  behave  with  proper  reverence  at  church."  She  re- 
plied, "The  king  would  talk  wuth  her."  He  said,  "  A  great- 
er than  kings  was  there  only  to  be  regarded."  She  ac- 
knowledged it,  and  confessed  her  fault.  "Pray  "(said  she) 
"tell  me  what  is  my  next?"  He  replied,  "When  I  hear 
your  Majesty  has  amended  of  that  fault,  I  will  tell  you  of 
your  next."     He  died  A.  I).  1752,  in  his  eighty-third  year. 

Richard  Lardner  denied  the  Roman  Trinity.  He  has 
laid  the  world  under  obligations  to  him  by  his  most  pro- 
found and  learned  Evidences  of  Christianity.  His  writings 
will  remain  while  truth  is  prized.  It  is  too  evident  that 
few  controversies  have  so  little  augmented  the  sum  of 
knowledge,  and  so  much  hurt  the  spirit  of  charity,  as  the 
controversies  that  have  been  carried  on  in  the  Christian 
Church  in  relation  to  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 


604  CHURCH   HISTORY. 


MOSHEIM   ON    ANTITRINITARIANISM. 

The  discussion  of  this  question  is  so  fair,  and  the  views 
of  the  learned  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke,  bishop  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  one  of  her  brighest  ornaments,  so  beautiful 
that  I  transfer  them: 

'' Antitrinitarian  doctrine  had  man}^  abettors  in  En- 
gland during  the  seventeenth  century;  and  it  may  be 
presuuied  that  its  votaries  are  rather  increased  than  di- 
minished in  the  present;  but  those  divines  who  hcive 
abandoned  the  Athanasian  liypothesis  concerning  the 
Trinity  of  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  have  more  generally 
gone  into  the  Arian  and  Seraiarian  notions  of  that  inexpli- 
cable subject.  The  Arians  have  had  several  celebrated 
writers  in  this  century,  such  as  Sandius  and  Biddle.  Of 
those  who  also  passed  under  the  general  denomination  of 
Antitriiiitarians  and  Unitarians,  there  are  many  that  may 
be  placed  in  the  class  of  tlie  Socinians  and  Arians,  ibr  the 
term  Unitarian  is  very  comprehensive,  and  is  applicable 
to  a  great  variety  of  persons,  who  agree  in  this  common  prin- 
ciple, tliat  there  is  no  real  distinction  in  the  divine  nature. 
The  denomination  of  Arian  is  also  given  in  general  to  those 
who  consider  Jesus  Christ  as  inferior  and  subordinate  to  the 
Father.  But,  as  this  subordination  may  be  understood 
and  explained  in  various  Avays,  it  is  evident  that  the  term 
Arian,  as  it  is  used  in  modern  language,  is  susceptible  of 
diiFerent  significations;  and  thai,  in  consequence,  the  per- 
sons to  whom  it  is  applied  can  not  be  all  considered  in  the 
same  point  of  light  with  the  ancient  Arians,  or  supposed 
to  agree  perfectly  with  each  other  in  their  religious 
tenets."     ii.  299. 

A.  D.  1675.  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke,  a  man  of  great  abili- 
ties, judgment,  and  learning,  in  1T24,  was  accused  of  alter- 
ing and  modilying  the  ancient  and  orthodox  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity.  But  it  must  argue  a  great  want  of  equity  and  can- 
dor, to  rank  this  eminent  man  in  the  class  of  Arians,  taking 
that  term  in  its  proper  and  natural  signification  ;  for  he 
only  maintained  wdiat  is  commonly  called  the  Arminian 
Subordination,  which  has  been,  and  is  still,  adopted  by 
some  of  the  greatest  men  in  England,  and  even  by  some 
of  the  most  learned  bishops  in  that  country.  This  doc- 
trine he  illustrated  with  greater  care  and  perspicuity  than 
any  before  him  had  done,  and  taught  that  the  Father,  Son, 


MOSIIEIM    ON    ANTITRINITARIANISM.  505 

and  Holy  Ghost,  are  equal  in  nature,  and  dilTerent  in  rank, 
authority,  and  subordination.  A  great  number  of  English 
"writers  have  endeavored,  in  a  variety  of  modes,  to  inval- 
idate and  undermine  the  doctrine  of  the  holy  Trinity ;  and 
it  was  this  consideration  that  engaged  a  lady,  eminently 
distinguished  by  her  orthodoxy  and  opulence,  to  beqeath  a 
valuable  legacy  as  a  foundation  for  a  lecture,  in  which 
eight  sermons  are  preached  annually  by  a  learned  divine, 
"who  is  nominated  to  that  office  by  the  trustees.  This  foun- 
dation has  subsisted  since  the  year  1720,  and  promises  to 
posterity  an  ample  collection  of  learned  productions  in 
defence  of  this  branch  of  the  Christian  faith."     ii.  355.  " 

"Dr.  Clarke  also  stepped  aside  from  the  notions  com- 
monly received  concerning  the  Trinity;  but  his  modifica- 
tion of  this  doctrine  was  not  so  remote  from  the  poi»ular 
and  orthodox  hyjiothesis,  as  the  sentiment  of  Whiston. 
His  metliod  of  inquiring  into  that  incomprehensible  sub- 
ject was  modest,  and,  at  least,  promised  fairly  as  a  guide 
to  truth.  For  he  did  not  begin  by  abstract  and  metaphys- 
ical reasoning  in  his  illustrations  of  this  doctrine,  but 
turned  his  first  researches  to  the  word  and  to  the  testi- 
mony, being  persuaded  that,  as  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
was  a  matter  of  mere  revelation,  all  human  explications 
of  it  must  be  tried  by  the  declarations  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, interpreted  by  the  rules  of  grammar,  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  sound  criticism.  It  was  this  persuasion  that 
produced  his  famous  book,  entitled.  The  Scripture  Doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,  wherein  every  Text  in  the  New  Test- 
ament relating  to  that  Doctrine  is  distinctly  considered, 
and  the  Divinit}^  of  our  blessed  Savior,  according  to  the 
Scriptures,  proved  and  explained.  The  doctrine  which 
this  learned  divine  drew  from  his  researches  was  compre- 
hended in  hfty-five  propositions,  which,  with  proper  illus- 
trations, form  the  second  part  of  the  w^ork.  As  ihe  reader 
"will  tind  them  in  that  work  at  full  length,  we  shall  only  ob- 
serve here,  that  Dr.  Clarke,  if  he  was  careful  in  searching 
for  the  true  meaning  of  those  scriptural  expressions  that 
relate  to  the  divinity  of  the  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  was 
equally  circumspect  in  avoiding  the  accusation  of  hetero- 
doxy, as  appears  by  the  series  of  propositions  now  referred 
to.  There  are  three  great  rocks  of  heresy  on  which  many 
bold  adventurers  on  this  Anti-racilic  ocean  have  been 
seen  to  split  violently.  These  rocks  are  Trilheism,  Sabell- 
ianism,  and  Arianism.  Dr.  Clarke  got  evidently  clear  of 
the  first  by  denying  the  self-existence  of  the  Son  and  the 


506  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

Holj'  Ghost,  and  by  maintaining;  their  derivation  from,  and 
subordination  to,  the  Father.  He  strenuously  hil)ored  to 
avoid  tlie  second  by  acknowledging  the  personality  and 
distinct  agency  of  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  he 
flattered  himself  with  having  escaped  from  the  dangers  of 
the  third  by  his  asserting  the  eternity  (for  he  believed 
the  possibility  of  an  eternal  production,  which  Whiston 
could  not  digest)  of  the  two  divine  subordinate  persons. 
But,  with  all  his  circumspection.  Dr.  Clarke  did  not  escape 
opposition  and  censure.  He  was  answered  and  abused; 
and  heresy  was  subdivided  and  modified,  in  order  to  give 
him  an  opprobrious  appellation,  even  that  of  Semiarian. 
The  convocation  threatened;  but  the  Doctor  calmed  by  his 
prudence  the  apprehensions  and  fears  which  his  scripture- 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  had  excited  in  that  learned  and 
reverend  assembly. 

"If  Dr.  Clarke  was  attacked  by  authority,  he  was  also 
combatted  by  argument.  The  learned  Dr.  AVaterland  was 
one  of  his  principal  adversaries,  and  stands  at  the  head  of 
a  polemical  body,  composed  of  eminent  divines,  such  as 
Gastrel,  Wells,  Nelson,  Ma3^o,  Knight,  and  others,  who  ap- 
peared in  this  controversy.  Against  these,  Dr.  Clarke,  un- 
awed  by  their  numbers,  defended  himself  witii  great  spirit 
and  perseverance,  in  several  letters  and  replies.  This  pro- 
longed a  controversy,  which  may  often  be  suspended  through 
the  fatigue  of  the  comhattants,  or  the  change  of  the  mode  in 
theological  researches,  but  which  will  probably  never  be 
terminated  ;  for  nothing  afibrds  such  an  endless  subject  of 
debate  as  a  doctrine  above  the  reach  of  human  understand- 
ing, and  expressed  in  the  ambiguous  and  improper  terms 
of  human  language,  such  as  persons,  generations,  sub- 
stance, etc.,  which,  in  this  controversy,  either  convey  no 
ideas  at  all,  or  false  ones.  The  inconveniences,  accord- 
ingly, of  departing  from  the  divine  simplicity  of  the  script- 
ure language  on  this  subject,  and  of  converting  a  mat- 
ter of  mere  revelation  into  an  object  of  human  reasoning, 
were  palpable  in  the  writings  of  both  the  contending  par- 
ties. For,  if  Dr.  Clarke  was  accused  of  verging  toward 
Arianism,  by  maintnining  the  derived  and  caused  exist- 
ence of  the  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  it  seemed  no  less  evident 
that  Dr.  Waterland  was  verging  toward  Tritheism,  by 
maintaining  the  self-existence  and  independence  of  these 
divine  persons,  and  by  asserting  that  the  subordination  of 
the  8on  to  the  Father  is  only  a  subordination  of  office 
and  of  nature:  so  that,  if  the  former  divine  was  deserv- 


MOSHEIM   ON   ANTITEINITARIANISM.  507 

edly  called  a  Semiarian,  the  latter  mi<j;ht,  with  equal  jus- 
tice, be  denominated  a  Senii-Tritheist  Tiie  Doctor,  indeed, 
apologizes  in  his  Queries  for  the  use  oC  these  metaphysical 
terms,  by  observing  that  '  they  are  not  designed  to  enlarge 
our  views,  or  to  add  any  thing  to  our  stock  of  ideas,  but 
to  secure  the  plain  fundamental  truth,  that  Father,  Son  and 
Holy  Ghost,  are  all  strictly  divine  and  uncreated;  and  yet 
are  not  three  Gods,  but  one  God.'  It  is,  however,  difficult 
to  comprehend  how  terms  that  neither  enlarge  our  views, 
nor  give  us  ideas,  can  secure  any  truth.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  what  our  faith  gains  by  being  entertained  with  a 
certain  number  of  sounds.  If  a  Chinese  should  explain  a 
term  of  his  language  which  I  did  not  understand,  by  an- 
other term,  which  he  knew  beforehand  that  I  understood 
as  little,  his  conduct  would  justly  be  considered  as  an 
insult  against  the  rules  of  conversation  and  good  breeding; 
and  1  think  it  is  an  equal  violation  of  the  equitable  prin- 
ciples of  candid  controversy,  to  offer,  as  illustrations, 
propositions  or  terms  that  are  as  unintelligible  and  ob- 
scure as  the  things  to  be  illustrated.  The  words  of  the 
excellent  and  learned  Stillingfleet  (in  the  Preface  to  his 
Vindication  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity),  administer 
a  plain  and  wise  rule,  which,  if  observed  by  divines,  would 
greatly  contribute  to  heal  the  Avounds  which  both  truth 
and  charily  have  received  in  this  controversy.  'Since 
both  sides  yield,'  says  he,  '  that  the  matter  they  dispute 
about  is  above  their  reach,  the  wisest  course  they  can  take 
is,  to  assert  and  defend  what  is  revealed,  and  not  be  per- 
emptory and  quarrelsome  about  that  which  is  acknowl- 
edged to  be  above  our  comprehension ;  I  mean  as  to  the 
manner  how  the  three  persons  partake  of  the  divine 
nature.'" 

If  Trinitarian  and  all  other  Arian  ministers  would  ibllow 
this  advice,  we  would  hear  less  of  the  ebullitions  of  vain 
inflated  egotism  and  bigotry,  constantly  cropping  out  un- 
der the  plume  orthodox,  or  evangelical,  the  popular  mis- 
nomer, lor  the  most  jn-ominent  heresies  of  human  creeds. 

VIEWS  OF  BISHOP  SAMUEL  CLARKE. 

Maclaine  says:  "Dr.  Clarke  maintained  an  equality 
of  perfections  in  the  three  persons,  but  a  subordination  of 
nature  in  point  of  existence  and  derivatipn."  Mosh.  ii.  313. 

The  Christian  doctrine  branded  as  "Arian"  is  the  orig- 
inal evangelical  doctrine  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,  while 
Arianisni  is  only  a  modified  form  of  Trinitarianism,  the 


508  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

first  being  simple  and  the  second  tripple  Arianism,  hoth 
equally  heretical  in  adding  derived  and  originated  gods. 

Socrates  saj-s  that  both  Arians  and  Trinitarians  "unan- 
imously asserted  one  God  in  three  persons."  Palmer's 
Edition,  p.  227. 

Neander  says  that  Arius  "was  intending  simply  to 
defend  the  old  doctrine  of  the  church  concerning  the  Trin- 
ity."    ii.  365. 

Prof.  Stewart  says,  "  the  Nicene  fathers  say  the  Son  is 
light  of  light  and  God  of  God."— "One  and  all  held  that 
Christ,  as  to  his  divine  nature,  was  derived."  He  asks, 
"Is  it  possible  to  make  true  divinity  harmonize  with  deri- 
vation?" lie  answers,  "No;  it  is  not."  Yet  all  human 
creeds  teach  that  Christ  is  a  derived  God,  which  is  pure 
Arianism.  The  making  three  Divine  persons  equally  de- 
pendent upon  each  other,  is  but  Triarianism  or  Trinitari- 
nism.  The  Christians  have  no  sjnnpathy  with  either  doc- 
trine, but  believe  in  one  God,  one  Son  of  God,  and  one 
Spirit  of  God. 

The  Christian  Poet,  Isaac  Watts,  was  born  in  1674  and 
died  in  1748.  after  leaving  his  testimony  against  the  erron- 
eous faith  of  his  youth,  in  the  maturer  judgment  and  dis- 
cretion of  age.  The  hymns  of  this  great  man,  written  in 
early  life,  he  would  have  revised  according  to  a  more  ma- 
tured faith,  had  not  the  copyright  been  sold.  Their  errors 
cheer  the  heart  of  the  Trinitarian,  who  sings  his  Tritheist- 
ic  creed  in  poetic  contradictions,  and  glories  in  the  name  of 
the  author  who  lived  to  correct  the  errors  of  his  youth.  His 
Address  to  God,  uttered  in  the  close  of  his  life,  breathes 
the  honest  sincerity  of  a  soul  delivered  from  a  long  bond- 
age of  error.  ^'-Dear  and  Blessed  God:  Hadst  thou  been 
pleased,  in  any  one  plain  Scripture,  to  have  intbrmed  me 
which  of  the  difl'erent  opinions  about  the  Trinity,  among 
the  contending  parties  of  Christians,  had  been  true,  thou 
knowest  with  how  much  zeal,  satisfaction  and  joy,  my  un 
biased  heart  would  have  opened  itself  tc  receive  and  em. 
brace  the  divine  discovery.  Hadst  thou  but  plainly  told 
me  in  any  single  text  that  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit 


mi.  ISAAC  WATTS.  509 

are  three  real  distinct  persons  in  the  Divine  nature,  I  had 
never  suffered  myself  to  be  bewildered  in  so  many  doubts 
nor  embarrassed  by  so  many  strong  fears  of  assenting  to 
tlie  mere  inventions  of  men  instead  of  the  Divine  doctrine, 
but  I  would  have  humbly  and  immediately  accepted  the 
words,  so  far  as  it  was  possible  for  me  to  understand  them 
as  the  only  rule  of  my  faith."  Extract  from  the  dying 
prayer  of  Dr.  Watts. 

A.  D.  1751.  The  very  learned  and  great  Dr.  Clayton,  bish- 
op of  Cloger,  delivered  his  memorable  speech  in  the  house 
of  Lords,  in  1756,  urging  the  peers  to  omit  the  Nicene 
and  Athanasian  creeds.  He  said,  '•'  The  first  was  the  pro- 
duction of  ignorance,  and  the  last  of  forgery.  Both  are 
contrary  to  the  Divine  word."  He  insisted  that  a  more 
enlightened  age  should  not  be  tied  down  to  those  anti- 
quarian determinations.  "I  must  inform  your  lordships," 
said  the  enlightened  bishop,  "  that  all  those  books  which 
were  published  in  opposition  to  tlie  Council  of  Nice  have 
been  destroj^ed,  so  that  our  information  comes  only  from 
one  side  of  the  question  ;  and  of  all  those  histories  suffered 
to  come  down  to  our  times,  I  do  not  know  of  one,  except 
Eusebius  of  Cesarea,  who  says  little  on  the  subject,  but 
what  is  so  filled  with  falsehoods,  forgeries  and  contradic- 
tions, that  their  veracity  is  not  to  be  depended  on." 
"Athanasius  was  a  young,  forward,  petulent  deacon,  of 
an  ambitious  spirit,  and  talent  fitted  for  disputation.  And 
as  he  could  have  no  hopes  of  getting  into  tlie  bishopric 
unless  he  could  drive  out  Arius  from  Alexandria,  who  was 
the  principal  presbyter  in  that  church  next  to  the  bishop, 
this  he  effected  by  fomenting  this  dispute  between  Arius 
and  the  bishop,  on  Avhich  account,  having  got  Arius  ex- 
communicated, he  liad  him  banished  out  of  Alexandria. 
And  no  sooner  was  the  old  Bishop  Alexander  dead,  but 
Athanasius,  though  then  only  twenty-seven  or  eight  years 
old,  bv  the  assistance  of  a  set  of  murdering  ascetics 
forced  himself  at  once  into  that  high  archbishopric,  with- 
out ever  passing  through  any  of  the  intermediate  degrees. 
And  having  gotten  himself  illegally  consecrated,  contrary 


510  CHURCH    HISTORY". 

to  all  the  rules  and  canons  of  the  church,  prevailed,  by  a 
bribe  to  one  of  the  emperor's  favorites,  to  confirm  him 
therein."  And  "  when  regularly  dispossessed  of  his  bish- 
opric, by  a  numerous  council  of  bishops,  he  forced  his  way 
into  that  see,  more  than  once  or  twice,  over  the  murdered 
corpses  of  his  antagonists,  and  waded  into  his  cathedral 
through  seas  of  blood."  Bishop  Clayton  also  urged  the 
consequence  of  the  possibility  of  falsity  in  the  creed,  say- 
inf  "I  dread  to  name  it,  as  it  would  be  no  less  than  blas- 
phemy, for  if  the  Father  and  the  Son  have  not  been  from 
all  eternity  consubstantial  and  coequal,  the  assertion  of 
that  proposition  would  be  blasphemy." 

The  laws  yet  condemned  to  death  all  who  denied  this 
Catholic  dogma;  and  the  more  enlightened  Christians 
appealed  to  Parliament  "for  the  repeal  of  all  penalties 
denounced  against  those  who  denied  the  Trinity;  and  Mr. 
Fox  supported  their  pretensions  with  animated  eloquence 
But  their  request  was  not  granted."     Mosh.  ii.,  297,  298. 

SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY. 

Several  new  sects  sprung  up  in  this  centurj^,  of  whom 
I  shall  give  no  detailed  description,  as  each  has  its  own 
history.  The  Anabaptists  were  moulded  over  into  Mennon- 
ites  and  various  branches  of  German  Baptists.  Those 
inclined  to  more  purity  in  morals,  and  more  communion  in 
spirit,  were  called  Quakers.  These  compose  one  of  the 
best  sects  in  the  world,  although  all  the  accumulated 
fanaticism  of  the  Paulicians,  Arians,  Manicheans,  Albigen- 
ses  and  Anabaptists  has  been  charged  upon  them.  They 
were  "children  of  the  light;"  "  they  trembled  and  quajied 
at  the  word  of  God;"  they  disturbed  religious  worship; 
"  a  female  appeared  in  Whitehall  Chapel  stark  naked,  in 
Cromwell's  presence,  during  public  worship;"  another  was 
inspired.  The  Quakers  were  much  persecuted,  and  this 
led  to  extreme  enthusiasm,  and,  to  instances  of  fanaticism. 
Still  their  worst  acts,  even  taking  the  account  of  their 
enemies,  were  indiscretions,  unmingled  with  cruelty  ;  while 
their   enemies  had  all  these  indiscretions,  to  which  they 


■UNITARIANS.  511 

added  cruelty.  The  Quakers  were  much  persecuted;  but 
under  James  IT.,  of  England,  the}^  found  protection  in  laws 
which  James  designed  only  to  favor  the  Catholics.  I  can 
not  approve  of  their  rejection  of  some  parts  of  the  gospel, 
yet  I  confess  that  I  love  their  moral  and  humane  princi- 
ples, their  upright  character,  and  their  peaceable,  indus- 
trious, quiet  and  honest  lives,  and  consider  them  far  more 
evangelical  than  many  who  assume  that  name  and  de- 
nounce them.  Their  founder  was  George  Fox,  a  shoemaker, 
who  lived  in  England,  in  1647. 

EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 

Dr.  Priestley  was  a  man  of  great  talents,  possessed  of 
an  ardent  and  active  spirit,  a  philosopher,  a  divine,  and  a 
statesman.  He  extended  our  knowledge  of  air,  and  of 
other  natural  objects,  theology,  and  the  art  of  govern- 
ment. He  so  offended  the  priests  that  they  headed  a  mob, 
who  burned  his  library,  and  philosophical  apparatus,  and 
drove  him  from  England  in  his  old  age.  In  politics  he  was 
inclined  to  republicanism.  Unawed  by  the  terrors  of  the 
law,  which  denounced  punishment  against  all  who  denied 
the  Trinity,  he  maintained  that  Christ  was  a  mere  man — an 
error  of  philosophy. 

John  Wesley,  the  founder  of  the  Methodists,  was  born 
in  England  in  1703,  and  died  in  1791.  He  graduated  at 
Oxford  in  1727.  He  was  ordained,  in  1728,  in  the  Church 
of  England,  in  which  he  died.  He  was  early  called  Homo 
unis  lihri:  the  man  of  one  book;  and  he  and  his  compan- 
ions were  called  Bible  moths,  on  account  of  their  close 
study  of  the  Bible.  He  was  one  of  the  best  ministers  of 
any  sect  since  the  fourth  century.  Happy  would  it  have 
been  had  he  possessed  sufficient  faith  in  God's  word  to 
build  upon  the  foundation  at  first  laid.  But  with  all  his 
zeal  and  goodness,  he  added  only  another  to  the  numerous 
sects  and  creeds.  The  names  made  prominent  in  this 
movement  were  two  lovely  brothers,  John  and  Charles 
Wesley,  the  angelic  mortal,  George  Whitefield,  and  the 
most   Christian   Lady  Huntington,  who,  as  much  as  any 


512  CHURCH  history. 

other,  perhap?,  forwarded  the  movement  for  greater  holi- 
ness. 

A.  D.  1729.  The  Universalists  also  arose  about  this 
time.  The  close  of  this  century  was  marked  with  a  revi- 
val both  of  religion  and  letters. 

HUMAN  RELIGIONS  TRIUMPHANT. 

From  the  Alps  to  the  Adriatic  everything  was  now 
subdued  to  the  Catholic  Church.  The  priests  and  the  in 
quisition  had  cut  down  and  rooted  out  every  green  thing. 
Tlie  Jew  even  must  cross  himself  or  die.  In  France  the 
dragoons  destroyed  and  drove  out  all  Bible  Christians. 
Austria  watched  for  heretics,  with  fire  and  sword  ever 
ready.  England  had  established  the  Episcopal  Church; 
Scotland  the  Presbyterian ;  Switzerland  and  North  Ger- 
many the  Protestant.  But  popery  was  planted  in  America, 
from  Chili  in  South  America  to  Canada  in  North  America, 
the  few  Protestants  being  confined  mostly  to  the  coldj 
sterile  coast  of  the  Atlantic  in  North  America. 

The  Mohammedan  religion  was  firmly  established  in 
Asia,  Africa  and  Europe ;  and  the  Syrian,  Nestorian,  Abys- 
sinian, and  other  Christian  sects  had  life,  if  not  liberty, 
under  the  rule  of  the  prophet. 

A.  1).  1776.  The  United  States  of  America  declared 
their  independence  of  European  control,  and  adopted  a 
constitution  conceding  liberty  to  every  man  to  choose  his 
own  religion. 

At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  notwithstand- 
ing the  body  of  the  Savior  was  patched  over  with  creeds, 
and  divided  into  sections,  and  labeled  with  the  names  of 
men,  and  parceled  out  into  what  was  familiarly  called 
"branches  of  the  Church,"  j^et  the  true  faith  was  increas- 
ing, and  the  true  spirit  was  reviving;  and  it  is  supposed 
that  the  masses  of  the  people,  in  most  of  the  sects,  held 
the  ancient  and  apostolical  doctrine  of  the  Bible.  This 
explains  such  sentences  as  the  following: 

I.  "The    Presbyterians    had   commenced    their    course 


NrNETEENTH   CENTURY.  513 

through  Arianism  down  to  Sccinianism."     Wat.  Life  "Wes- 
ley, p.  62. 

II.  This  occasioned  the  Episcopalians  to  charge  the 
Presbyterians  with  a  uniform  tendency  to  "Arianism." 
See  "The  Pres.  in  search  of  the  Church." 

III.  This  explains  the  fact  that  in  Geneva,  the  very  seat 
of  Calvinism,  the  faith  of  Servetus,  the  Martyr,  prevails 
over  the  creed  of  Calvin.  In  New  England  over  two  hun- 
dred Calvinistic  churches  renounced  Trinitarianism  and 
adopted  Unitarianism. 

NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 

Jones,  Smith,  O'Kelly,  Stone,  Purviance,  are  names  en- 
shrined in  the  aflections  of  the  lovers  of  the  true  church, 
Bible  doctrine,  and  Christian  liberty.  These  were  fore- 
most in  the  great  movements  for  Christian  liberty  in  the 
United  States.  While  the  laws  of  England  continued, 
their  meetings  would  have  been  unlawful  assemblies. 
From  the  days  of  Justinian  till  the  American  constitution, 
the  death  penalty  for  a  denial  of  the  Roman  Trinity  stood 
upon  the  statute  books  of  all  Catholic  and  Protestant 
countries.  IrL.533  Justinian  sent  forth  the  great  general, 
Belisarius,  to  conquer  the  world  to  the  empire  and  the 
creed.  Nation  fell  after  nation.  Next  rose  the  little  horn, 
or  pope-king;  then  the  false  prophet;  and  in  all  nations 
Christians  lived  only  by  toleration,  or  escaped  death  by  the 
providence  of  God. 

"About  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth,  the  more  pious  of  the  clergy 
and  members  of  the  churches  of  the  respective  religious 
denominations  of  Kentucky  beheld  with  emotions  of  use- 
ful and  unfeigned  regret,  the  moral  desolations  which  pre- 
vailed in  their  ranks  generally,  to  an  alarming  extent." 
Rogers. 

This  zephyr  of  grace  was  felt  in  other  parts  of  the 
country,  and  was  followed  by  tidal  waves  which  wafted 
the  church  heavenward  more  than  any  other  revival  inter- 
est experienced  since  the  fourth  century.  This  started 
eimwltaneously,  East,  West,  South  and  North. 
33 


514 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MISSION. 


^/M-^m^  ffiljristians. 


■^^\    ,0^}^ 


=M^ 


Beginning  it  Jerusalem 
Clui&t  Born   Dec  2o,  A  4004 
First  Discii  les,  A   D  29 
Called  Chiibtnns  it 

Anticch   A   D  43 
Orgini/ed  m  \merica, 
Dec  2o,  1  95 
End  m  glory 


VTfA  i 


The  ABOVE  view  represents  the  Christians  in  their  origin, 

PILGRIMAGE,  BAPTISM  AND  TRIUMPH.  TllE  GLORY  OP  THE  REVIVAL 
OP  THE  ANCIENT  CHURCH  SHOULD  BE  GIVEN  TO  GOD  ALONE.  NO 
MAN   CLAIMS  IT.       ThE  CHRISTIANS    STARTED    SIMULTANEOUSLY  NOT 

only  in  distant  states,  but  in  aiany  distant  neighborhoods. 
Ministers  without  the  least  knowledge  of  each  other  beoan 

AT  the    same  time  TO  GIVE  UP  CREEDS;    PROCLAIM    UNION;    PLEAD 

FOR  THE  Bible  as  an  all-sufficient  confession;  Christ  fob 
THEIR  only  leader;  and  for  a  pure  heavenly  reugion. 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  515 

Abner  Jones  says:  "Oii  the  9th  of  June,  A.  D.  1793,  I 
was  baptized  by  Elder  Elisha  Ransom,  in  Woodstock,  near 
the  North  Meeting-house.  I  submitted  to  this  ordinance 
as  a  command  of  the  Lord,  although  I  had  but  a  very  little 
feeling  sense  of  it,  for  I  felt  the  weight  of  this  Scripture, 
'The  rebellious  shall  dwell  in  a  dry  land.'"  (The Baptists 
were  the  great  revival  preachers  of  the  day  in  New  Eng- 
land.) '•!  drew  up  a  determination  to  believe  and  practice 
just  what  I  found  required  in  the  Bible,  and  no  more." 
"When,  on  searching  the  New  Testament  through,  to  my 
great  astonishment,  I  could  not  find  the  denomination  of 
Baptist  mentioned  in  the  whole  of  it.  I  only  found  John 
the  Baptist,  or  baptizer."  "The  Disciples  were  first  called 
Christians  at  Antioch.  After  this  search  I  denied  the  name 
of  a  Baptist."     Life,  p.  69,  60. 

A.  D.  1792-3.  Purviance  says:  "In  the  year  1792,  I 
came  to  Caneridge,  Ky.  There  was  some  appearance  of  a 
revival;  meetings  for  preaching  and  prayer  were  frequent, 
and  I  got  into  difficulty  and  distress  on  the  doctrine  of 
election  and  effectual  calling."  Presbyterian  books  were 
furnished  him,  but  when  in  one  he  came  to  the  sentence, 
"The  salvation  of  the  non-elect  must  remain  as  it  ever 
was,  an  impossibility,"  he  "dashed  the  book  across  the 
room  and  opened  it  not  again."  Being  elected  to  the 
Kentucky  Legislature,  other  thoughts  than  Calvinism  oc- 
cupied his  attention.  But  on  again  attending  the  Presby- 
tery, when  returning,  he  asked  the  advice  of  B.  W.  Stone 
as  to  v/hat  books  he  should  read,  in  order  to  prepare  a 
discourse  for  examination  on  divinity.  Stone's  answer 
showed  how  the  Keformation  had  already  progressed — 
would  that  the  letters  were  written  in  gold — they  were, 
"Read  the  Bible." 

Stone  says:  "In  the  year  1793,  I,  with  several  more  of 
my  fellow  students,  became  candidates  lor  the  ministry  in 
the  Orange  Presbytery.  The  Presbytery  assigned  us  par- 
ticular subjects,  among  which  were  the  Being  and  Attri- 
butes of  God,  and  the  Trinity,"  We  commenced  in  high 
spirits.  Whitsius  on  the  Trinity  was  put  into  our  hands. 
Whitsius  would  first  prove  that  there  was  but  one  God, 


516  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

and  fhen  that  there  were  three  persons  in  this  one  God. 
We  heard  of  Dr.  Watts'  Treatise  on  the  subject.  AVe 
sought  ibr  it.  This  we  read  with  pleasure  and  understand- 
ing, and  received  his  views.  Tlie  next  session  of  our 
Presbytery  came  on.  We,  with  many  other  candidates, 
attended.  Old  Father  Patillo  was  there,  who  himself 
embraced  Watts'  views  on  the  Trinity.  The  examination 
of  the  candidates  on  theology  was  laid  on  him.  When  he 
came  to  the  subject  of  Trinity,  he  was  very  short,  and  his 
interrogatories  involved  no  peculiarities  of  the  system. 
Our  answers  were  honest  and  satisfactory.  The  reasons 
why  he  was  so  short  and  indetinite  on  this  subject  Avere, 
doubtless,  to  prevent  debate  on  the  subject  in  Presl.ytery, 
and  to  maintain  peace  among  its  members, 

"Before  the  next  session  of  Presbytery,  we  were  to  re- 
ceive license,"     Life,  p.  14. 

A.  D.  1792-3.  In  the  preface  to  a  work  in  the  South 
called  Christian  Principles,  we  read  : 

"The  history  of  the  Christian  Church,  as  a  separate  and 
distinct  organization,  commenced  near  the  close  of  the 
last  century.  Those  who  were  instrumental  in  its  estab- 
lishment were  Virginians  and  North  Carolinians.  The 
leading  spirit  in  the  organization  was  Rev.  James  O'Kelly, 
a  distinguished  minister  in  the  Llethodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Mr,  O'Kelly  had  hoped  to  find  with  the  Methodists  that 
spirit  of  liberality  and  reform  that  would  ultimately  per- 
meate every  Christian  community,  and  open  the  door  of 
universal  religious  suffrage  and  harmonious  union.  But 
the  arbitrary  measures  of  a  few  individuals  crushed  his 
hopes  in  that  direction,  and  he  determined,  though  reluc- 
tantly, to  withdraw  and  continue  his  work  independent  of 
them,  which  he  did  in  the  year  1792,  followed  by  about 
twenty  or  thirty  other  ministers.  After  one  or  two  pre- 
liuiinary  meetings,  Mr.  O'Kelly  and  his  associates  met  in 
General  Conference  the  next  year,  in  Surry  county,  Va., 
and  after  mature  deliberation  adopted  substantially  the 
priuciples  now  maintained  by  the  Christian  Church,  only 
they  called  themselves  "Republican  Methodists,"  which, 
however,  they  dropped  the  following  year,  and  established 
the  name  Christian." 

A,  D,  1793,  On  Christmas  day,  in  Manakin,  North  Car 
olina  a  number  of  ministers  withdrew  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal   Church,   and  formed   at   first   as  "Republican 


NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  517 

Methodists,"  bat  by  subsequent  action,  the  same  year 
dropped  all  human  names,  and  were  known  only  as  "Chris- 
tians." At  the  same  time  they  laid  by  all  human  creeds 
and  leaders,  and  resolved  to  follow  Christ  alone,  and  to 
take  the  Bible  as  their  only  creed,  and  to  confess  all  his 
followers  as  their  brethren.  Those  who  entered  into  this 
new  organization  in  1794  nnmbered  about  1,000,  and  many 
more  united  with  them  the  next  year.  The  ministers  were 
generally  distinguished  for  their  piety  and  zeal,  and  the 
lay-members  for  their  hospitality  and  love  of  freedom.  The 
brethren  South  first  organized  Christian  churches  in  1T94-. 

East.  The  first  Christian  sermon  recorded  at  this  time 
was  by  Abner  Jones,  a  physician.  He  says  that  he 
''felt  it  from  the  Lord,  as  a  duty  laid  upon  him,  to  warn 
his  fellow  mortals,  and  call  upon  them  to  come  to  Christ." 
He  spake  on  Matthew  22 :  5.     "They  made  light  of  it,"  etc, 

I.     They  make  light  of  God's  word. 
n.     They  make  light  of  God's  work. 
HL     They  make  light  of  the  Gospel. 

A.  D.  1801.  He  organized  a  church  in  Lyndon  under 
the  name  of  Christian.  This  was  the  first  free  Christian 
Church  in  New  England.     Life,  p.  84. 

He  soon  after  gathered  a  Christian  Church  in  Bradford, 
Vermont.  Then  one  in  Haverhill,  New  Hampshire.  In  this 
year,  1803,  Elder  Elias  Smith  organized  a  Christian  Church 
in  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire.  The  Church  in  Boston  was 
organized  by  Dr.  Jones  in  1807. 

"A.  D.  1798.  November  14.  Rev.  Elias  Smith  was  in- 
stalled pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Woburn."  He 
says ;  "  It  was  while  at  Woburn  that  my  mind  was  first 
troubled  about  what  is  called  the  Trinity,"  and  on  page 
262,  he  says:  "I  (bund  the  name  which  ihe  followers  of 
Christ  ought  to  bear,  which  was  Christians,  and  from  this 
time  commenced  preaching  against  the  Catechisms  as  the 
inventions  of  men.  June,  1802,  Elder  Abner  Jones,  of 
Vermont,  came  to  see  me,  who  was  the  first  Christian  free- 
man I  had  ever  seen."     Smith's  Life.  ' 

In  1805  Smith  commenced  the  publication  of  a  relig- 


618  CHURCH  history. 

ions  work  called  the  "Christian's  Magazine  Reviewer  and 
Religious  Intelligencer,"  the  first  religious  periodical  in 
the  United  States;  this  continued  two  years.  September 
1,  1808,  he  commenced  the  publication  of  the  "Herald  of 
Gospel  Liberty,"  in  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire.  This 
was  the  first  regular  Religious  Newspaper  in  the  known 
world.  I  have  the  first  years'  numbers  in  my  study,  this 
November  22,  1870.  It  is  a  Quarto,  in  regular  newspaper 
form,  printed  on  good  type,  Long  Primer,  and,  except  in 
size,  no  great  improvement  has  been  made  upon  this  "first 
Religious  Newspaper  in  the  world."  It  is  now  published 
at  Dayton,  Ohio,  Edited  by  H.  Y.  Rush;  Associate  Editors, 
O.  J.  Wait  and  J.  J.  Summerbell. 

The  great  revival  was  not  confined  to  principles  and 
faith,  but  it  extended  to  manners  and  morals.     Elder  Rog 
ers  wrote  as  follows: 

West.  "Early  in  the  year  1801  an  anxious  inquiry  be- 
gan to  be  instituted  by  the  churches  generally,  as  by  com- 
mon impulse,  into  the  causes  of  the  great  spiritual  declen- 
sion that  prevailed.  And  in  a  short  time  the  people  began 
to  meet  in  small  assemblages,  for  the  purpose  not  only  of 
inquiry,  but  for  religious  worship.  The  more  experienced 
engaged  in  exhortations  and  prayers  to  God  for  a  revival 
of  liis  work.  Those  meetings  were  well  attended,  and  con- 
ducted with  becoming  gravity.  Tlie  Bible,  hitherto  looked 
on  as  a  sealed  book,  to  be  believed  and  understood  only 
by  the  favored  few,  divinely  illuminated,  was  now  freely, 
and  in  the  spirit  of  rrucli  candor,  read  and  examined.  Its 
seeming  difficulties  were  passed,  and  the  minds  of  inquir- 
ers directed  to  the  plain  and  practical  teachings  of  that 
blessed  book,  much  good  was  the  result. 

"Ministers  of  the  Gospel  became  greatly  awakened  to 
the  discharge  of  their  holy  functions,  their  discourses  were 
clear  and  practical,  and  of  consequence  far  more  interest- 
ing and  eifectual.  Tiie  dogmas  and  speculations  of  the 
sects  were  now  in  but  little  request,  even  among  the  cler- 
gy. Themes  of  a  much  more  noble  character  inspired  their 
hearts,  the  spiritual  growth  of  their  flocks,  and  the  salva- 
tion of  souls.  And  in  this  manner  the  interest  of  the 
Christian  religion  increased  daily.  The  interest  for  the 
fcible  and  the  religion  it  teaches  augmented  daily,  and  the 


NINETEENTH   CKNTURT.  51 5^ 

moral  tension  of  the  public  mind  was  now  wound  up  to  a 
high  stage,     A  general  meeting  was  then  appointed. 

"Early  in  the  month  of  April  (1801),  of  the  year  in 
question,  a  phenomena  in  tlie  religions  history  of  the 
West  made  its  appearance  in  the  south  o^  Kentucky  more 
than  one  hundred  miles  from  Caueridge.  It  was,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  day,  styled  Tlie  falling  exercise.'  The  accounts 
of  it  narrated  were  Avondrous  to  our  ears.  And  still  the 
wonder  grew  until  the  month  of  May;  when  the  strange 
work  was  witnessed  in  the  two  churches  of  Oaneridge  and 
Concord,  the  former  in  Bourbon,  the  latter  in  Nicholas  Coun- 
ty. And  l)oth,  at  that  time,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev. 
Barton  W.  Stone,  a  young  gentleman  of  much  purity  and 
high  respect  for  learning,  for  talent  and  aimiability  of 
manners  in  the  Presbyterian  ranks.  Such  was  now  the 
general  interest  of  the  public  mind,  that  when  the  meet- 
ing came,  it  was  attended  by  about  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred souls.  Persons  were  said  to  be  in  attendance  from 
most  of  the  States  in  the  Union.  The  Rev.  Stone,  aided 
by  the  Rev.  David  Purviance,  and  a  few  others,  '  origina- 
ted and  gave  impulse  to  a  new  reformation  wave,  whose 
onward  roll  shall  be  commensurate  and  coextensive  with 
eternity.' 

There  were  many  of  those  converts  who  never  liad  and 
never  could  submit  to  human  dogmas.  Therefore  when  asked 
"of  what  sect  they  were?"  the  reply  was,  "None,"  "What  de- 
nomination will  you  join  ?"  "  None."  "What  party  name  will 
you  take?"  "None.'  "What  will  you  do?''  "We  will  continue 
as  we  have  begun — we  will  be  Christians.  Christ  is  our 
leader,  the  Bible  is  our  only  creed,  and  we  will  serve  God 
free  from  the  trammels  of  sectarianism." 

Rev.  J.  Rogers,  a  Disciple     preacher,  in  1845,  adds: 

"The  intelligent,  the  aimiable  and  pious  Purviance, 
now  (in  1815)  near  fourscore  years  of  age,  resides  near 
New  Paris,  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  is  at  tliis  time  the 
only  survivor  of  that  veteran  band  who,  at  that  early  date, 
decided  to  take  the  Bible  as  their  creed,  to  the  exclusion 
of  all  systems  of  human  device.  He  still  teaches  with  a 
becoming  zeal  the  faith  he,  at  the  period  in  question,  sub- 
scribed to."     Life  of  Purviance,  p.  300. 

A  few  preachers  were  willing  to  abide  with  the  lambs, 
of  these  were  B.  W.  Stone,  John  Dunlavy,  John  Thompson, 


520  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

Robert  Marsliall,  and  David  Purviance.  These,  with  McNe- 
niar,  finally  AVithdrew  from  the  presbytery,  and  formed  a 
new  one  called  the  Springfield  Presbytery;  but  in  1804, 
they  dissolved  this  presbytery  in  the  following  words  : 

"  The  last  Will  and  Testament  of  Springfield  Preshytery^'' 

"Presbytery  of  Springfield,  sitting  at  Caneridge,  Bour- 
bon County,  Kentucky,  being,  through  a  gracious  Provi- 
dence, in  more  than  ordinary  bodily  health,  growing  in 
strength  and  size  daily,  etc.;  but  knowing  that  it  is  ap- 
pointed for  all  delegated  bodies  once  to  die,  and  consider- 
ing that  the  life  of  every  such  body  is  very  uncertain,  do 
make  and  ordain  this  our  last  Will  and  Testament: 

'■''  Imprimus.  We  will,  that  this  body  die,  be  dissolved, 
and  sink  into  union  with  the  body  of  Christ  at  large;  for 
there  is  but  one  body,  and  one  Spirit,  even  as  we  are  called 
in  one  hope  of  our  calling. 

'■''  Itein.  We  will,  that  our  name  of  distinction  with  its 
reverend  title,  be  forgotten,  that  there  be  but  one  Lord 
over  God's  heritage,  and  his  name  one. 

"  Item.  We  will,  that  our  power  of  making  laws  for  the 
government  of  the  Church,  and  executing  them  by  dele- 
gated authority,  forever  cease;  that  the  people  may  have 
free  course  to  the  Bible,  and  adopt  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of 
life  in  Christ  Jesus. 

"  Item..  We  will  that  candidates  for  the  Gospel  ministry 
henceforth  study  the  Holy  Scriptures  with  fervent  prayer. 

"  Ite7n.  We  will  that  the  Church  of  Christ  resume  her 
native  right  of  internal  government,  etc. 

"  Item.  We  will,  that  each  particular  church,  as  a 
body,  actuated  by  the  same  Spirit,  choose  her  own  preach- 
er, and  support  him  by  a  i'ree-will  oftering. 

'•^  Item.  We  will,  that  the  people  henceforth  take  the 
Bible  as  the  only  sure  guide  to  heaven,  and  as  many  as 
are  ofl'ended  with  other  books,  which  stand  in  competition 
with  it,  may  cast  them  into  the  fire  if  they  choose;  for  it 
is  better  to  enter  into  life  having  one  book,  than  having 
many  to  be  cast  into  hell. 

"  Item.  We  will,  that  preachers  and  people  cultivate 
a  spirit  of  mutual  forbearance,  pray  more  and  dispute  less. 

'-'■  Item.  We  will,  that  our  weak  brethren,  who  may 
have  been  wishing  to  make  this  presbytery  their  king,  and 
wot  not  what  is  now  become  of  it,  betake  themselves  to 
the  Rock  of  Ages  and  follow  Jesus  Christ  for  the  future. 


NINKTEEXTII    CENTURY.  521 

•'  Ttem.  We  will,  that  all  our  sister  bodies  *read  their 
Bibles  carefully,  that  they  may  see  their  fate  there  determ- 
ined and  prepare  for  deatii  before  it  is  too  late." 


Springfield  Presbytery.  )      j    o 
June  23,  180-t.  '  \     ^-  ^ 


Robert  Marshall,  John  Dunlavy,  Richard  McNemar, 
B.  W.  Stone,  John  Thompson,  David  Purviance,     Witnesses' 

Smith  and  Jones  published  a  hymn  book  of  "Hymns, 
Original  and  Selected,  for  the  CHRISTIANS."  The  year 
is  unknown.  The  "  Fourth  Edition  Corrected,"  of  1810,  con- 
taining 360  pages,  printed  in  long  primer,  duodecimo  form, 
eight  four-line  verses  to  a  page,  making  quite  an  imposing 
book,  is  before  me.  Many  of  the  hymns  contain  as  many 
as  eleven  or  twelve  verses  of  tive  or  six  lines  each.  One 
on  p.  206  is  historical  rather  than  poetical.     It  reads: 

"  More  than  ten  years  have  rolled  away, 
Since  I  did  testify  and  say, 
Aside  all  party  names  I'll  lay, 
And  make  the  name  of  Christ  my  stay. 
And  join  in  Christian  union." 

•'More  than  ten  years  "  takes  us  back  to  the  last  decade 
of  the  eighteenth  centuiy.  If  we  may  suppose  the  first 
edition  published  seven  years  before  the  fourth,  this  hymn, 
dating  ten  years  prior  to  that,  refers  to  a  time  as  earlv  as 
1792-3. 

The  hymns  are  characteristic  of  the  great  reformation 
spirit.  There  is  much  about  God,  Jesus,  the  Bible,  Union,  the 
New  Birth,  and  Heaven.  The  spirit  is  ardent,  enthusiastic, 
loving  and  quickening.  The  first  hymn  is,  "O,  when  shall 
I  see  Jesus."  The  last,  "  O,  how  I  long  for  the  coming  of 
God."  The  spirit  apparent  in  the  newspaper  and  the 
book  seems  as  different  from  the  cold,  sectarian  spirit  of 
the  preceding  ages,  as  the  warm  sun  of  the  morning  differs 
from  the  chilly  night  air  preceding  the  coming  day.  It 
was  in  truth  a  revival  of  the  Christianity  of  the  first  age 
of  the  church.  It  was  a  radical  reformation.  The  great 
apostacy  of  popery  consisted  in: 

1.  The  adoption  of  several  persons  as  God. 


522    •  CHURCH    HISTOKY. 

II.  In  the  adoption  of  the  commandments  of  men. 

III.  In  abandoning  holiness  and  charity  as  essential  to 
salvation,  or  absolutely  necessary  in  religion. 

IV.  In  thepractice  of  killing  believers  for  their  opinions. 

V.  In  tolerating  strumpets  for  the  priests  in  preference 
to  wives. 

VI.  In  tli'e  worship  of  images.  Either  of  these  is  a 
radical  error. 

The  Christians,  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  without  the 
least  knowledge  of  each  other,  or  concert,  everywhere 
adopted  those  truths  ot  which  these  errors  are  the  oppos- 
ite, and  this  at  the  very  period  when  the  church  was  to  be 
restored. 

A.  D.  1808.  September  first  is  the  date  of  the  first 
religious  newspaper  ever  published.  I  have  before  me  the 
"  Boston  Recorder,"  which  claims  to  be  the  oldest.  Its  aate 
is  November  18, 1870,  Volume  LV.  'ihat  gives  its  origin  in 
1815,  full  seven  years  subsequent  to  the  Christian  paper; 
and  I  think  that  there  is  one  other  paper  tliat  is  some  threes 
years  older  than  the  "  Recorder." 

ITEMS    IN    THE    '' HERALD    OF    GOSPiiL    LIBERTY,"    OP    1808. 

1.  The  articles  on  Literature  continued;  still  pleading 
for  union  and  liberty.  In  No.  XIIL,  of  1  809,  the  editor  says ; 
"we  would  like  to  see  the  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine 
wandering  sects  gathered  into  the  fold  of  truth."  No.  VI.  of 
1808,  contains  the  following: 

Letter  to  the  Editor^  dated  Philadelphia^  Oct.  24, 1808. 
Dear  Brother: 

"Through  the  Providence  of  God,  a  book  was  put  into  my 
hand,  'The  Age  of  Inquiry,'  written  by  you,  by  wliicli  I 
discover  a  people  in  the  Eastern  States,  that  are  established 
on  pure  Gospel  order;  acknowledgii>g  our  dear  Emmaiiuel 
as  the  Only  Ilead^  Shepherd,  and  I)isho2J,  of  his  church; 
and  who  receive  his  precious  word  as  a  liule  of  Faith  and 
Practice.  I  rejoice  exceedingly  to  hear  of  the  glorious 
progress  of  the  truth,  and  the  rapid  spread  of  divi/ie  light, 
1  felt  my  mind  deeply  impressed  to  communicate  to  you 


NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  523 

what  the  ever  blessed  God  has  done  for  his  people  in  the 
Southern  and  Western  States,  and  also  in  tliis  city,  as  also 
to  request  of  you  some  information  as  to  the  extejit  o[  your 
labors,  with  the  success  attending  the  same,  having;  never 
heard  of  you  before,  and  concluding  you  are  without  infor- 
mation respecting  us. 

"In  Virginia,  about  16  years  ago,  it  pleased  the  Lord  to 
call  out  from  the  body  of  Methodists,  Baptists  and  Presby- 
terians, a  people  into  the  Gospel  order,  laying  the  founda- 
tion on  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  being  the 
chief  corner-stone.  Having  laid  aside  all  human  inventions, 
such  as  Creeds,  FornuUas,  Disciplines,  we  were  united 
only  by  the  bond  of  love,  on  the  precious  word  of  God ; 
and  discarding  all  party  names,  acknowledged  no  other  than 
that  of  Christian^  hence  are  called  the  Christian  ChuvGh. 
Their  labors  have  been  attended  with  the  abundant  out- 
pourings of  the  Spirit,  and  great  hath  been  the  success  of 
the  word.  The  Church  has  spread  through  Virginia,  North 
and  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Ohio, 
and  the  Western  part  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  where 
there  are  thousands  united  in  the  same  Spirit  worshiping 
the  Lord.  In  iNovember,  1807,  to  the  praise  and  glory  of 
God,  a  little  flame  of  Gospel  liberty  was  lighted  up  in  this 
city;  a  few  have  united,  and  many  are  enquiring  after 
truth;  SpiPdTUAL  Despotism  and  Pkieslly  tyranny  have,  in 
a  degree  facilitated  the  progress  of  the  work  here,  and  we 
do  humbly  hope,  that  the  time  is  indeed  hastening  when 
the  authority  of  Ciirist  will  be  more  universally  acknowl- 
edged in  his  Church,  to  the  utter  exclusion  of  every  otiier 
Legislator^  and  mankind  become  better  acquainted  with 
the  nature  of  that  allegiance  which  they  owe  to  Mm^ 
when  every  species  of  antichrislian  government  will  be 
brought  down;  and  deluded  oppressors  attached  to 
its  priesthood,  liide  their  despotic  heads,  and  tyrannical 
powers,  in  perpetual  oblivion.  May  the  Lord  hasten  it,  and 
restore  peace  to  Zion. 

"The  Church  in  this  city  salute  you,  and  the  sister 
Churches  among  which  you  labor,  bearing  you  in  mind  at 
the  Throne  of  Grace,  that  all  spiritual  blessings  may  be 
multiplied  unto  you  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

"Your  early  communications  will  be  pleasingly  received. 
"  Your  affectionate^  alihoitgh  unknoivn. 
'•'-Brother  in   Christ. 

"ROBERT  PUNSIION." 


524  CHURCH    HISTORY". 

"  N.  B.  Since  writiiifr  tlie  above,  I  have  l)een  favored 
with  the  Herald  ol'  September  the  1st,  in  which  I  read  an 
acconnt  of  the  revival  of  religion  in  Kentucky,  and  discov- 
er that  .you  have  a  knowledge  of  the  Christian  Church  in 
the  Western  parts  of  this  country.  They  are  the  sister 
Church  of  those  in  Virginia,  and  the  Southern  States;  al- 
though those  in  Pennsylvania  have  never  had  any  commu- 
nication with  any,  or  even  heard  that  tliere  were  others 
like  minded  with  themselves,  being  chiefly  locked  up  in 
the  German  language;  yet  they  were  expressly  of  the 
same  order  with  them  in  the  South,  in  tlie  West,  and  from 
the  perusal  of  your  writings,  of  those  in  the  Eastern  States. 
The  little  Church  in  this  city  was  raised  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  brethren  from  Virginia." 

No.  VIII.,  of  December  8,  1808,  has  a  very  spicy  article 
— "A  picture  "  of  Sectarianism,  and  an  able  and  learned 
article  on  Baptism.  A  letter  from  Wm.  Lanphier,  of  Al- 
exandria, Virginia,  speaks  of  the  "Christian  Church," 
with  which  he  has  been  connected  "  twelve  j'ears,"  which, 
bowed  to  no  lawgiver  but  Christ,  and  "no  law^s  in  religion 
but  those  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,"  and  advertises  several 
books  of  Sermons  by  Jones,  Smith  and  others.  No.  IX, 
speaks  of  O'Kelly  as  "a  leading  character  in  the  church'' 
(South). 

The  papers  abound  in  such  notices  as  the  following: 
The  general  meeting  of  the  elders  and  brethren  of  the 
Christian  Church  will  commence,  etc.,  May,  1809,  for 
preaching  the  word  of  God,  and  receiving  preachers  and 
private  members,  etc.,  etc.  The  obituaries  speak  of  many 
happy  deaths  of  members  of  the  Christian  Church. 

No,  XLVII.  has  a  lovely  letter  from  Elder  Frederick 
Plummer  concerning  the  Christian  Church  in  Philadelphia. 
Names  appearing  frequently  in  the  paper  are  those  of  el- 
ders Frederick  Plummer,  S.  Pand,  Abner  Jones,  Eld.  Chase, 
P.  Hathaway,  Keuben  Dodge,  Eld.  Putnam,  Joseph  Sturdi- 
vant,  Daniel  Hix,  Nathan  Foster,  Amri  Mitchell,  John  Gray 

In  No.  XLV.,  Vol.  1,  a  discussion  is  published  on  the 
question,  "Is  the  Sou  of  God  equal  with  the  Father?    Kev 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  525 

W.  Cloud  affirms,  and  Rev.  Thos.  Smith  denies."  The  Edi- 
tor thinks  the  question  should  be,  "Is  Jesus  Christ  the 
Creator,  or  is  he  the  Son  of  the  Creator?"  The  articles 
abound  in  a  spirit  of  Bible  union,  love  to  God  and  mau, 
liberty,  revivals,  prayer,  charity,  and  good  works. 

The  sects  looked  upon  this  new  enterprise  with  great 
disfavor.  To  publish  a  religious  newspaper  was  making 
religion  too  common.  However,  after  some  five  years, 
another  was  started ;  then  the  Boston  Recorder  in  1815, 
since  which  the  newspaper  press  has  been  justly  consid- 
ered only  inferior  to  the  pulpit  in  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

In  1817  the  name  of  the  Herald  was  changed  to  "Chris- 
tian Herald;"  then  to  "Christian  Journal;"  again,  in  1837, 
to  "Christian  Herald."  In  1851  the  name,  ''The  Herald  of 
Gospel  Liberty,"  was  revived.  It  is  now  published  in  Day- 
ton, Ohio,  by  the  Christians,  and  is  a  bold  and  able  advocate 
of  Bible  truth  and  Christian  liberty. 

West.  A.  D.  1802.  William  Kinkade,  the  author  of 
"Bible  Doctrine,"  says  :  "I  was  raised  a  Presbyterian,  and 
still  think  them  the  best  sect,  except  the  Quakers.  In 
1801  I  was  brought  under  deep  conviction  of  sin."  He 
was  converted  September  26,  1802,  the  day  of  his  birth  in 
1783,  and  the  day  of  his  death  in  1832.  The  love  of  God 
filled  his  soul  Avith  glory.  He  says:  "I  then  refused  to 
call  myself  by  any  name  but  that  of  Christian,  bore  a 
public  testimony  against  all  party  names,  and  declared 
that  I  would  take  no  other  book  for  my  standard  but  the 
Bible.  I  did  not  then  know  that  any  other  person  would 
■unite  with  me  to  have  no  name  but  Christian,  and  take  no 
standard  but  the  Bible  ;  but  I  thought  it  was  right,  and 
therefore  determined  to  pursue  it,  let  the  consequence  be 
what  it  might.  I  could  have  been  a  Baptist,  a  Methodist, 
or  a  Bresbyterian  preacher.  The  two  latter  sects  both 
strongly  solicited  me  to  be  a  preacher  among  them,  but  I 
utterly  refused,  because  I  thought  it  would  be  better  for 
nie  to  go  alone  on  the  word  of  God,  than  to  put  myself 
under  obligation  to  believe  and  preach  any  system  framed  by 
fallible  men.    I  have  since  ascertained  that  in  diiferent  parts 


526  CHURCH  history. 

of  America  there  were  hundreds  that  started  ab-mt  the 
same  (ime  that  I  did,  and  although  they  were  generally 
unlaiown  to  each  other,  they  look  the  same  ground,  and 
were  actuated  by  the  same  spirit.  About  three  years  after 
I  took  this  stand,  I  heard  of  Marshall,  Thompson,  Stone, 
and  other  members  of  the  Springfield  Presbytery."  He 
adds:  ''The  Bible  was  my  school-book,  and  I  still  think  it 
is  the  best  school-book  in  the  world.  In  learning  my  les- 
sons in  the  New  Testament,  I  took  up  the  idea  that  God 
was  the  greatest  and  oldest  person  in  existence,  and  that 
Jesus  Christ  was  the  next  greatest;  but  1  was  just  as  far 
from  thinking  that  he  was  as  old  or  as  great  as  his  Faiher, 
as  I  was  from  thinking  that  I  was  as  old  or  as  great  as  my 
father." 

Kinkade  was  truly  a  great  man.  His  eloquence  was 
profound.  His  spirit  was  bold.  His  course  was  indepen- 
ent.  His  "Bible  Doctrine,''  a  work  of  some  four  hundred 
pages  is  instructing  and  interesting.  Kinkade  spent  most 
of  his  ministry  in  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Ohio,  tiiongli  he 
visited  other  States.  His  theological  works  were  published 
in  New  York  City.  He  is  buried  at  Burlington  Church, 
twelve  miles  north  of  Cincinnati,  and  by  his  side  lies  my 
own  child,  Charles  Henry  Summerbell.  Among  the  (Chris- 
tian ministers  raised  up  with  the  infant  church  in  the 
West  were  Purivance,  Stone,  Dunlavy,  McNemar,  Marshall 
Kinkade,  Hardy,  Kyle,  Alexander,  Sheidler,  Adams,  Dyer, 
Dooley,  Worley,  Gardner,  Simonton,  Long,  Walter,  Hays, 
Levi  Purviance,  Ladley,  McLain,  Phillips,  Kirby,  Harvey, 
Hill,  Pool,  Williamson,  Houston. 

New  York.  In  1810  Jasper  Hazen,  then  but  20  years 
old,  visited  New  Baltimore,  New  York,  preaching  the  glor. 
ious  gospel.  An  old  minister,  Jonathan  Miller,  had  become 
alienated  from  the  Baptists  on  account  of  his  Bible  views. 
"  He  had  often  told  them  that  God  would  raise  up  a  people 
who  would  hold  up  the  very  principles  which  he  held,  and 
that  he  would  live  to  see  such  a  people.  Father  Miller 
blessed  God  aloud,  and  said  to  his  wife,  "Here  is  one  of 
the  people  that  I  have  been  looking  for."     A  revival  of 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  527 

God's  work  attended  the  preaching,  and  several  cluirehes 
were  phinted  in  Albany  connty  and  Greene.  Elder  Chris- 
topher W.  Martin  continued  the  good  work.  Tlie  churches 
of  JMedway,  Freehold,  Westerloo,  and  Milan,  in  Ducliess 
county,  and  such  godl}'  ministers  as  Reuben  Allerton,  Levi 
Hatliaway,  and  otliers,  were  monuments  of  this  great  work. 
Jonathan  Miller  died  in  1817.  His  whole  i'amil}^  believed. 
One  daughter  was  the  Christian  wife  of  Elder  Levi  Hatha- 
way, the  mother  of  Warren  Hathaway,  now  one  of  the 
ablest  ministers  of  the  American  pulpit,  and  professor  in 
the  Biblical  Listitute. 

Massachusetts,  A.  D.  1808.  One  of  the  most  remarka- 
ble men  for  eloquence,  honesty,  and  an  abundance  of  the 
Christian  spirit,  was  the  good  Daniel  Hix.  When  I  visited 
Massachusetts  in  1840  the  people  often  spoke  of  his  good- 
ness, assuring  me  that  such  was  his  influence  and  reputation 
that  it  was  not  customary  to  re-weigh  or  measure  produc- 
tions when  offered  for  sale  by  any  of  his  congregation  in 
the  markets  of  New  Bedibrd.  This  good  man  heard  the 
glad  news  of  a  pure  gospel,  and  rejoiced  in  it.  He  saw 
the  Christian  preacher,  and  loved  him.  The  following  let- 
ter the  printer  will  set  from  the  Herald  of  July  20,  1810. 
Of  course  this  closed  his  labors  with  the  Baptists. 

Extract  of  a   letter  from  Elder  Daniel  Ilix^  to  the  Ed- 
itor^ dated  Ereetown,  Mass.,  July  2,  1810. 

"Beloved  Brother: 

"On  the  23d  of  February  last,  I  baptized  a  brother, 
which  made  the  number  one  tnousand  which  I  have  bap- 
tized; and  the  lirst  person  I  ever  baptized  is  now  in  the 
church  with  me.  Since  the  above  date  1  have  baptized  46 
more." 

"I  have  attended 'Groton  Union  Conference,' and  suf- 
fer trouble  as  an  evil  doer  (I  do  not  say  on  your  account), 
but  ibr  joining  with  you.  If  this  is  a  fault,  it  is  my  own. 
The  Lord  is  my  judge.  The  many  reports  about  you,  and 
my  being  a  companion  of  them  that  are  so  used,  has  made 
no  small  stir.  In  order  for  a  fair  trial,  the  Conferencd 
chose  a  Committee  to  examine  me.  After  coming  togeth- 
er, (hey  found  themselves  unprepared  for  such  an  inqjort- 


528  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

ant  matter \  and  therefore  withdrew  into  a  chamber,  ar- 
ranged their  business,  and  came  forward  with  four  qxies- 
tions^  in  writing,  and  requested  an  answer  from  me  in  the 
same  way. 

"I  could  not  premeditate  an  answer;  but  my  depend- 
ence was  on  Him  who  said,  'it  shall  be  given  to  you  in  the 
same  hour;'  and  thanks  to  God  1  found  them  ready  at  hand. 

''The  questions  and  answers  1  here  enclose,  and  wish 
them  i3ublished  to  the  world.  I  make  no  remarks  on  the 
questions,  but  submit  them,  Avitli  the  answers,  for  the  can- 
didate to  judge  whether  the  questions  are  answered  or 
not." 

''FOUR  QUESTION  IS  from  the  'Groton  Union  Con- 
ference^^ hy  their  Committee^  who  met  in  Westerly,  June 
20,  1810,  to  he  answered  by  Elder  Daniel  Hix. 

Question  1.  Do  you  believe  Jesus  is  the  Mighty  God? 
Answer — By  Elder  Hix.  'Unto  us  a  child  is  born;  unto 
us  a  Son  is  given,  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his 
shoulder;  and  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Coun- 
sellor, the  Mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince 
of  Peace."  (Isaiah  ix.  6.)  "Question  2.  Do  you  believe 
that  there  are  three  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holj'^  Ghost?"  '^  Answer:  'There  are  three  that  bear 
record  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  these  three  are  one,"  (1  John,  v.  7.)  "  Ques- 
tion 3.  Do  you  believe  that  the  punishment  of  the  finally 
imj^enitent  will  be  equal  in  duration  to  the  ha})piness 
of  the  righteous?"  Answer:  "Jesus,  speaking  of  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked,  said  of  the  latter,  'And  these  shall 
go  away  into  everlasting  punishment;  but  the  righteous 
into  lile  eternal.' "     Matt.  xxv.  46. 

"  Question  4.  Do  you  fellowship  Elias  Smith  as  a  min- 
ister of  Jesus  Christ,  walking  in  gospel  order?"  "An- 
swer. As  it  respects  Elias  Smith,  I  believe  he  preached 
the  gospel  when  I  heard  him.  As  to  his  walk,  I  am  not  so 
suitable  a  judge  as  those  who  are  better  acquainted  with 
him.  I  have  not  seen  him  for  fourteen  months  past,  living 
almost  two  hundred  miles  apart. 

"The  Committee  made  their  re])ort,  which  I  have  not 
obtained.  I  can  not  give  a  fair  statement  of  their  report, 
but  conclude  the  answers  were  not  satisfactoiy.  From  the 
report  and,  by  the  help  of  the  Sister  Associations  and 
Caleh    Green,  belonging  to  none,  they  voted  to  drop  me 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  529 

out  of  their  Minutes,  and  keep  the  church  in  wliich  1  am 
a  member. 

"After  the  confusion  subsided,  the  people  said  to  me 
as  the  Jews  did  to  Paul,  '  we  desire  to  hear  of  thee  what 
thou  tliinkest;  for  as  conceriung  this  sect,  we  know  that 
every  wliere  it  is  spoken  against.'  They  appointed  me  a 
phice,  and  many  came  to  hear.  I  had  several  solemn 
weeping  meetings  among  them.  The  desire  of  the  people 
to  hear  me  was  so  great,  that  I  left  an  appointment  to 
preach  in  Oharlestown  (R.  I.)  the  10th  cf  August  next, 
and  the  lith  and  12th  at  Westerly.  Many  there  desire  to 
see  you.  Come  and  go  with  me,  and  fail  not. 
"This  from  your  friend  and  brotlier. 

"DANIEL  HIX." 

In  the  "  Herald,"  of  April  27,  1810,  we  read :  "  A  brother 
near  JSfevj  Bedford^  writes,  that  '  Elder  Ilix  baptized  six 
in  Bedford  a  few  days  past;  and  six  in  Westport\  and  is 
to  baptize  several  in  Long  Plain  soon.' 

"This  word  is  true  of  the  ministers  of  Ciirist  at  the 
present  da}'-,  particularly  in  New  England  'And  they 
went  forth  and  preached  every  where,  the  Lord  working 
with  them,  and  confirming  the  word  with  signs  following. 
Amen.'  " 

Elder  GofT  says:  "The  last  time  I  heard  him  preach 
was  in  June,  1829.  Hundreds  listened  with  wrapt  atten- 
tion to  the  word,  and  often,  during  the  discourse,  of  more 
than  two  liours  in  length,  nearly  the  whole  congregation 
wept  aloud."     "  Herald,"  March  26,  1870. 

A.  D.  1812.  As  the  ancient  church  was  adorned  with 
the  names  of  women  who  labored  in  the  gospel,  so  on  the 
revival  of  the  true  gospel  they  again  appear.  The  follow- 
ing names  shine  in  the  pages  of  history  at  this  time: 
Nancy  Cram,  Abigail  Roberts,  Ann  Rexford,  Sarah  Hedges, 
Sally  Thompson — all  able  speakers  and  excellent  women. 
The  first  belonged  to  the  Freewill  Baptists,  but  labored 
mostly  with  the  Christians.  She  came  to  Charleston,  New 
York,  from  a  mission  among  the  Indians,  where  she  probably 
learned  to  rely  upon  God's  word  as  her  creed.  She  was  a 
stranger,  but  the  people  heard  her  eloquent  descriptions 
of  the  Savior  with  astonishment  and  with  tears,  and  in- 
quired who  this  wonderful  woman  was.  She  was  followed 
to  the  house  of  her  brother  and  urged  to  preach  in  every 
34 


530  CHURCH    H15T0R.Y. 

neigliborliood.  "A  wondeifiil  revival  of  religion  (bllowed  " 
for  several  months.  Mrs.  Cram  was  not  ordained.  (The 
Christian  sister  Melissa  Timmons,  of  Ohio,  is  llie  first 
woman  ordained  since  the  fifth  century.  Ihis  was  within 
the  last  ten  years,  probably  about  18'36.)  Sister  Cram  could 
not  baptize.  She  visited  Woodstock,  Vermont,  and  com- 
mended the  care  of  the  converts  to  the  general  meeting 
of  the  Christians  there.  Here  I  first  find  the  name  of  that 
beloved  man  of  God,  Jonathan  Thompson.  He,  with  Jabez 
King,  agreed  to  go,  after  two  months;  and  James  Wilson 
immediately.  With  joyful  heart  she  then  returned.  Bro. 
Wilson  says:  "Such  a  work  of  God,  such  praying,  talking 
converts,  such  crowds  to  hear  the  word,  filled  him  with 
wonder  and  admiration."  He  baptized  large  numbers,  and 
organized  a  Christian  Church.  Elder  Thompson  soon  ar- 
rived, and  the  word  of  God  spread  rapidly.  Elder  John 
Spoor,  one  of  the  converts,  became  one  of  the  ablest  min- 
isters. Elders  Asa  Allen,  John  Spoor,  J.  J.  Carr,  Lyman 
Allen,  Amasa  Stanton,  E.  Wood,  J.  N.  Spoor  and  Nelson 
Hoss,  and  several  other  good  and  great  ministers,  arose  in 
this  church  of  Charleston  Four  Corners.  Mrs.  Cram  next 
visited  Schenectady,  where  Mrs.  Abigail  Roberts  was  vis- 
iting. Mrs.  Roberts  left,  but  when  several  miles  distant, 
feeling  deeply  impressed,  returned  and  invited  this  sister 
to  her  own  neighborhood  to  preach.  She  went,  and  anoth- 
er revival  followed,  and  Mrs.  Roberts  believed,  with  all 
her  house. 

This  was  in  1814.  Mrs.  Roberts  became  one  of  the  most 
eloquent  and  influential  ministers  in  the  United  States. 
At  this  time  Mrs.  Cram  was  about  torty  years  of  age,  of 
medium  hight,  light  complexion,  blue  eyes,  and  modest, 
comely  and  Christian  appearance.  She  was  clothed  in 
plain  black  silk.  Under  her  preaching  and  prayers  listen- 
ing thousands  were  alike  moved  to  tears  of  contrition.  She  ' 
died  in  1816. 

Mrs.  Roberts  was  above  the  medium  hight,  well  built, 
with  a  large,  pleasantface,  solemn  countenance,  and  a  large? 
expressive   eye.     Mrs.  Roberts   commenced  preaching  in 


NINETEENTK   ofiNTURY.  531 

Milan,  New  York,  about  1816.  In  1817  her  son  Philetus,  a 
young  minister,  visited  his  mother  in  Greenfield  to  baptize. 
In  1824  she  visited  Warren  county,  New  Jersey,  and  after- 
ward Hunterdon  county,  where  great  revivals  followed 
her  labors,  and  large  and  influential  churches  were  gath- 
ered. 

A.  D.  1815  to  1830.  We  find  a  general  revival  interest 
followed  the  labors  of  the  following  Christian  ministers  of 
New  York:  Jabez  King,  Mrs.  Cram,  Mrs.  Roberts,  Mary 
Stephens,  C.  W.  Martin,  John  HoUister,  John  Ross,  John 
Spoor,  Levi  Hathaway,  Jesse  Thompson,  Jonathan  Thomp- 
son, Elijah  Shaw,  David  Millard,  D.  Farnum,  Joseph  Bailey* 
Willett  Stillman,  Samuel  P.  Allen,  J.  L.  Peavey,  Joseph 
Hay  ward,  Joseph  Badger,  Ira  Allen,  Jason  McGee,  William 
Cummings,  William  S.  Butler,  Geo.  W.  Walker,  Maxwell 
Mosier,  0.  E.  Morrill,  J.  Gates,  R.  Crocker,  Joseph  Marsh, 
J.  G.  Anderson,  Jesse  Church,  Joseph  Blackmar,  Asa  Chap- 
in,  Theophilus  Crocker,  John  T.  Bailey,  Daniel  Call,  and 
many  others.  They  were  men  of  faith  and  prayer.  They 
believed  in  a  living  religion  and  present  grace.  They 
generally  carried  the  Bible  as  their  constant  companion,  and 
were  eminently  ministers  of  the  New  Testament,  full  of 
faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  first  minister  raised  up 
in  the  churches  of  New  York  was  Elder  David  Millard,  in 
1815,  who  is  now  (in  1870)  living  in  Jackson,  Michigan,  still 
able  to  preach. 

East.  The  ministers  of  Boston,  desiring  a  revival,  had 
sent  a  messenger  to  invite  Elders  Smith  and  Jones  to 
preach  there  :  but  when  these  asserted  the  right  of  private 
judgment,  and  preached  free  grace,  those  became  alarmed 
at  the  revival,  and,  says  Mr.  Loraine,  ''Evidently  desired 
at  the  close  of  the  reformation,  that  Elders  Jones  and 
Smith  would  leave  the  town,  so  that  the  converts  might  be 
established  in  the  doctrines  which  had  been  previously 
taught."  And  the  very  messenger  who  invited  them  "was 
the  bearer  of  a  message,  forbidding  them,  any  more,  to 
enter  their  houses  of  worship."     Ch.  His.  Freese,  p.  122. 

A.  D.  1810.     Elijah  Shaw  was  converted  under  the  la- 


632  CHURCII    HISTORY. 

bors  of  Elder  Ebenezer  Leavitt,  who  was  preaching  at 
that  time  in  Kensington,  New  Hampshire.  Shaw  heard 
the  preaching  and  was  convicted.  "While  walking  across 
the  fields  alone,  January  25,  1810,  it  suddenly  occurred  to 
him  that  j^ride  of  heart,  and  want  of  entire  submission, 
were  the  hindering  cause.  He  then  resigned  himself  to 
God,  saying,  'Thy  Avill  be  done,'  when  peace  filled  his 
mind,  and  his  first  thoughts  were,  'Glory  be  to  God  in  the 
highest.'"  June  16,  1810,  he  was  baptized  by  Douglas 
Farnum.  He  became  one  of  the  ablest  and  best  ministers 
and  writers  in  the  great  reformation. 

I  find  among  the  ministers  of  New  England  in  this  age, 
Abner  Jones,  Elias  Smith,  Jasper  Hazen,  Peter  Young,  J 
Bullock,  Elder  Osborne,  Mark  Fernald,  B.  Palmer,  Jabez 
King,  Frederick  Plummer,  William  Blaisdell,  Holt,  Cobb, 
Foster,  John  Rand,  Stephen  Coffin,  Moses  Cheney,  John. 
Harriman,  John  Colby,  John  Capron,  J.  B.  Prescott,  Ward 
Locke,  Henry  Frost,  James  Tuthill,  Moses  How,  Joel  Dou. 
bleday,  Willett  Stillman,  Samuel  Peon,  Newman  Redington. 

A.  D.  1817.  About  this  time  Simon  Clough,  a  teacher 
at  Hallowell,  Massachusetts,  was  converted.  He  soon  be- 
gan to  preach,  and  it  is  recorded  that  "Brother  Clough  was 
a  learned  man.  His  labors  were  blessed,  and  converts 
were  multiplied.  Simon  Clough  was  then  preaching  at 
Fairfax.  A  revival  was  progressing."  Elder  Prescott  says: 
"Our  ordination  took  place  November  2,  1817.  We  both 
knelt  down,  and  were  set  apart,  he  as  an  evangelist,  and 
I  as  a  pastor.  Elder  Clough  Avas  afterward  pastor  of  the 
church  at  Boston,  and,  in  1824,  he  planted  the  church  in 
New  York.  He  also  labored  with  great  success  in  New 
Jersey,  and  the  stone  churches  at  Johnsonburg,  Spring 
Valley,  Hope,  and  others,  w^ere  built  under  his  labors.  He 
was  an  able  man.  He  was  some  time  editor  of  the  "Gos- 
pel Luminary."  He  published  many  sermons,  and  near 
the  close  of  his  life  he  published  a  royal  octavo  volume  of 
Articles  and  Sermons,  which  rank  among  the  ablest  theo* 
logical  writings  in  the  English  language. 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  533 

West.    In  the  West  brethren  waded  through  deep  waters. 
They  had  hardly  become  separated  irom  the  Presbyterians 
before  Bates,  Mitchum,  and  Young,  three  Sliaker  preach- 
ers, came  among  them.     They  were  prepossessing  in  tlieir 
appearance,  neat  and  plain  in  their  dress,  grave  and  un- 
assuming  in    their   manners,  intelligent  and  ready  in  the 
Scriptures,   with   great  boldness   of  faith.     They  professed 
the  power  of  the  Spirit,  and  told  of  their  miracles.     Many 
believed  in  their  sayings.     Some  forsook  married  life,  and 
three   of  the  Christian  ministers,  Houston,  McNemar,  and 
Dunlavy,    went    with    them;    little    thinking   it  was    only 
Romish  monkery  broken  loose  from  popery.     Marshall  and 
Thompson  went  back  to  the  Presbyterians,  where  I  trust 
they  did  good  as  conservatives.     Andrews  united  with  the 
Methodists,  and  died  soon  after.     Many  of  the  flock  were 
scattered.     Dunlavy  rose  to  high  repute  as  an  elder  and 
a  writer  among  the  Shakers  :  but  seeing  his  error,  he  died 
in  Indiana,  raving  at  his  folly  in  forsaking  the  truth  for  an 
old  woman's  fables.     McNemar  was  excluded  in  a  wretched 
penniless  condition.     Purviance  and  Stone  stood  firm.     It 
soon  appeared  that  all  was  for  the  best.     Those  who  went 
to  the  Shakers  were  too  much  inclined  to  fanaticism;  and 
had    they   remained    would    have    caused    trouble,    while 
Thompson  and  those  who  returned  to  the  sects  would  not 
have  followed   the  word  of  truth  in    baptism,  a   duty  in 
which  they  would  soon  have   been    tested.     God  was   pre- 
paring other  men  to  tread  the  wine  press.     Reuben  Dooley 
had  attended   the  Caneridge  revival  in  1801,  and  was  firm 
in  the  Bible  doctrine,  and  was  now  noted  for  fervent  piety 
and  pleasing  address.     Dooley  was  a  remarkable  man,  and 
the   Shakers    coveted   him.     Dunlavy   followed   him  from 
place  to  place,  till  Dooley  pronounced  to  him  the  words  of 
Paul  to  the  sorcerer.     Acts  13  :  10. 

The  Baptism.  In  1807,  while  preaching  in  Preble  Coun- 
ty, Ohio,  among  the  converts  was  one  young  woman  who 
requested  baptism.  It  was  a  trying  time.  Stone,  Dooley 
and  Purviance  were  present,  but  they  had  only  been  chris- 
tened.    A  meeting  was  appointed.     Dooley  preached  and 


534  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

Stone  baptized  the  young  woman  and  two  others.  Purvis 
anco  realized  the  truth,  and  conversed  witli  Stone  and 
Dooley.  He  did  not  desire  to  offend  the  rhurch.  Dooley 
said:  "The  best  way  to  please  the  brethren,  is  to  please 
the  Lord."  Furviance  then  spoke  boldly  to  the  people  on 
the  subject.  It  was  the  first  time  immersion  had  been 
named  to  them.  Stone  then  baptized  him.  As  he  went 
in,  Dooley  quietly  said,  "  as  soon  as  you  are  baptized,  I 
want  you  to  put  me  under  the  water."  He  did  so,  and 
others  followed.  Thus  soon  did  these  brethren  put  away  the 
Roman  mark  of  the  forehead  as  well  as  the  hand.  Stone 
went  forward  in  the  duty  soon  afterward. 

Stone  was  the  principal  writer  in  the  West,  as  Smith 
was  in  the  East;  but  as  Jones  in  the  East,  so  Purviance  was 
in  the  West,  the  pillar  of  the  church. 

David  Purviance  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  in- 
tellectual vigor  and  strength.  He  had  a  good  education, 
and  his  influence  had  long  been  felt  in  the  halls  of  legisla- 
tion before  he  entered  the  pulpit.  In  1811  he  published 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  a  work  on  "The  Constitution,  Unity, 
and  Discipline  of  the  Church  of  Christ,"  which  went  far  to 
heal  the  wounds  of  Zion.  He  urged  that  the  "  Church  of 
Christ  is  one  spiritual  body,  including  all  who  believe  in 
his  name  and  are  quickened  at  his  word ;  that  the  weak  in 
faith  are  to  be  received ;  that  the  word  of  God  is  the  only 
standard  by  which  we  are  to  try  or  condemn  error;  that 
ordination  is  to  be  performed  accompanied  by  fasting  and 
prayer;  that  it  is  required  of  the  church  to  support 
those  who  labor  in  the  gospel."  Marshall  and  Thompson 
claimed  the  privilege  of  communing  with  the  Christians  un- 
til they  found  a  home  some  where  else.  This  Purviance  illus- 
trated as  if  a  woman  should  propose  to  dissolve  the  mar 
riage  relation,  but  pending  the  time  of  finding  a  new  hua 
band  claimed  the  privilege  of  her  husband's  bed  and  board* 
Marshall  and  Thompson  left. 

Elder  Matthew  Gardner   was  converted  about  this  time 
He  became  one  of  the  ablest  prorr.oters  of  the  truth,  both 


NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  535 

m  the  pulpit  and  the  press.     He  is  now  over  eighty  years 
of  age.     He  writes  as  follows : 

Ripley,  Ohio,  October  24,  1870. 

Dear  Brother  Summerbell:  *  *  "The  first  Chris- 
tian minister  that  I  ever  heard  was  Archibald  Alexander, 
who  came  over  from  Kentucky  in  1809,  He  preached  once 
a  month  in  Southern  Ohio,  and  in  July,  1810,  I  embraced, 
religion.  In  August  of  the  same  year  Elder  Barton  W. 
Stone  gave  an  invitation,  I  went  forward  and  gave  him 
my  hand  and  made  a  public  profession,  and  immediately 
began  to  speak  publicly  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Elder  Al- 
exander baptized  me  in  the  fall  of  that  year,     *     * 

Matthew  Gardner. 

Dooley  traveled  extensively  in  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Tennes- 
see, Virginia,  and  Missouri,  in  company  with  Stone.  Their 
meetings  everywhere  being  attended  with  the  Holy  Sp 
He  was  zealous,  persevering,  and  successful  in  turni 
many  to  righteousness.  He  was  powerful  in  the  Spirit,  and 
many  trembled  as  well  as  rejoiced  under  his  word.  On 
one  occasion  a  bold,  rough,  cruel  man  came  forward  during 
service,  and  took  his  praying  wife  by  the  arm  to  lead  her  from 
church.  Dooley,  looking  steadfastly  upon  him,  requested 
him  to  desist.  He  continued  his  wicked  effort,  when  Doo- 
ley commanded  him  to  let  go  his  hold.  The  man,  attempt- 
ing to  continue,  turned  black  in  the  face  and  fell  dead. 
Having  seen  the  account  of  this  in  the  "Life  of  J.  Badg- 
er," some  years  since,  I  was  interested  to  know  the  truth. 
In  after  years  I  was  invited  to  dine  with  a  stranger. 
Learning  his  name,  I  inquired  if  he  were  related  to 
Elder  Dooley.  It  was  his  son,  Silas  Dooley.  I  inquired 
concerning  the  above  story.  He  siad,  "I  was  there,  and 
it  was  strictly  true."  After  preaching  his  last  sermon, 
while  the  congregation  "  were  in  a  flood  of  tears,"  his  Avife 
said,  "Reuben,  I  am  afraid  you  have  killed  yourself."  He 
replied,  "Had  I  been  sure  that  I  should  have  been  carried 
out  a  corpse,  I  should  have  said  just  what  I  did."  His  sub- 
ject was  the  Resurrection.     He  died  April  22,  1822. 

A.  D.  1815.     Elder  Nathan  Worley  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  men  of  this  age  of  the  great  and  good.    George 


eir  . 

irit      I 
ing      / 


536  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Maley,  an  aged  M«jthodist  minister,  said  to  me:  "Nathan 
Worley  had  more  of  the  Holy  Ghost  than  any  other  man 
that  was  ever  in  Miami  Valley."  Worley  drank  deep  into 
the  spirit  of  the  great  revival,  and  early  took  his  stand  by 
the  word  of  God.  His  godly  zeal  and  upright  deportment 
shed  a  divine  lustre  on  his  life.  He  resided  near  Dayton? 
Ohio.  He  was  ordained  in  1815,  by  fasting,  prayer,  and 
the  laying  on  of  hands  of  the  Presbytery,  viz:  Reuben 
Dooley  and  George  Adams.  The  church  was  in  earnest, 
and  "spent  the  day  in  fasting  and  prayer  with  the  elders." 
"His  motto  through  life  was,  'The  Bible,  and  the  Bible 
alone,'  for  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice."  He  continued 
longer  in  the  doctrine  of  infant  sprinkling  than  any  of  the 
other  ministers.  He  was  baptized  by  the  excellent  Levi, 
(son  of  David)  Purviance,  in  1832.  He  was  tall,  swarthy 
and  dark  comi^lexioned,  and  a  true  son  of  eloquence. 
Brother  L.  D.  Robinson,  of  Cincinnati,  told  me  that  he  was 
the  most  systematic  extempore  speaker  that  he  ever  heard, 
and  That  when  animated  in  speaking  his  appearance  was 
superhuman.  His  labors  were  mostly  in  the  Miami  Valley, 
and  all  denominations  shared  in  his  m.inistry.  He  was 
faithful,  prayerful,  loving  and  beloved,  patient  and  charita- 
ble, and  died  in  1847  in  a  flood  of  glory.  His  widow  told 
me  that  she  never  heard  him  speak  .an  unkind  word  of  any 
one. 

Elder  D.  Purviance  says  he  "feels  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
state  a  few  things  further  relative  to  this  good  man's  views 
on  some  doctrinal  and  practical  points.  Elder  Worley 
seldom  entered  into  controversial  points  of  doctrine;  but 
when  he  did,  he  was  plain  and  to  the  point,  and  generally 
established  his  position  by  the  unalterable  truths  of  the 
gospel.  His  views  on  the  divinit}^  of  Ciuist,  and  the 
atonement,  Avere  plain  and  consistent.  Tiie  divinity  of 
Jesus  Christ  he  believed  to  be  a  fundamental  doctrine  of 
the  Bible.  But  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  he  considered 
a  dark,  mysterious  something,  nowhere  to  be  found  in  the 
holy  book  of  God.  But  he  most  confidently  believed  that 
Jesus  was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  He  also 
believed  the  sacrifice  given  for  a  lost  world  was  nothing 
less  than  the  Son  of  God — that  very  being  by  whom  God 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  537 

made  tlie  worlds.  Also,  that  lie  had  a  glory  with  the  Fa- 
ther before  the  world  was.*  The  reader,  by  attending  to 
this  chapter  throughout,  may  easily  contemplate  Father 
Worley's  exalted  views  of  the  pre-existence  and  divinity 
of  the  Son  of  God.  He  firmly  believed  that  the  "  very 
God"  could  not  die;  and,  ou  the  contrary,  he  viewed  a 
mere  human  sacrifice  insufficient  to  redeem  a  lost  world: 
but  consistently  with  the  whole  tenor  of  Scripture,  he  be- 
lieved that  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father  came  down 
from  heaven  to  suffer  and  die,  "  the  just  for  the  unjust,  to 
bring  us  to  God."  "For  verily,  he  took  not  on  liim  the 
nature  of  angels,  but  he  took  on  him  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham." This  excellent  and  divine  being,  who  was  glorified 
with  the  Father  before  the  world  was,  he  believed  "pro- 
ceeded and  came  forth  from  the  Father,"  and  became  a 
propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  the 
sins  of  the  v/hole  world.  He  could  by  no  means  believe 
that  the  wrath  of  God  burned  against  the  world  until  his 
Son  came,  but  that  "  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him, 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  He  did  not 
believe  that  the  propitiatory  sacrifice  or  atonement  was 
designed  to  work  any  change  in  God;  for  lie  is  unchange- 
ably the  same.  "But  that  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling 
the  world  unto  himself — not  imputing  their  trespasses  imto 
them,"  "For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  (Christ) 
should  all  fullness  dwell;  and  having  made  peace  through 
the  blood  of  his  cross,  by  him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto 
himself"     Life  of  D.  Pur.,  p.  293. 

The  death  of  Christ  is  the  manifestation  of  God's  un- 
changing love.  God  makes  the  way  of  salvation  by  blood, 
to  bring  the  nature  of  sin,  and  its  penalty,  before  the  mind, 
and  to  show  to  an  astonished  universe  the  great  salvation, 
as  the  paschal  lamb  impressed  Israel  with  their  great  de- 
liverance. The  atonement,  to  be  effectual,  is  to  be  preached 
affirmatively,  not  negatively. 

REMARKABLE    INCIDENTS    RELATED   BY    STONE. 

"Bro.  Dooley  and  myself  agreed  to  travel  and  preach 
in  Ohio.  We  went  to  Eaton,  and  appointed  to  preach  in  a 
house  near  the  town  next  day.  After  meeting,  Major 
SteePs  wife  returned  home  and  found  her  husband  just  re- 

John  17:  5. 


538  CHURCH    HISTORF. 

turned  from  the  West.  She  told  him  that  two  strange 
preachers  had  come  to  town.  Nothing  more  was  said  on 
the  subject.  In  the  niglit  Major  Steel  dreamed  of  hearing 
a  man  preach  on  the  text,  John  3 :  16.  The  preacher's 
features  were  deeply  fixed  on  his  mind.  He  awoke  much 
agitated,  and  told  his  wife.  He  slept  and  dreamed  the 
same  things,  and  awoke  so  much  afiected  that  he  could 
sleep  no  more.  Next  day  he  went  to  the  meeting.  The 
moment  I  arose  he  recognized  me  as  the  preacher  whom 
he  had  seen  in  his  dream,  and  was  much  affected,  as  I  took 
the  very  text  which  he  had  heard.  He  was  convicted,  but 
returned  west  to  explore  lands,  and  was  not  baptized  till 
a  later  period.  We  preached  and  baptized  daily  in  Eaton. 
No  house  could  contain  the  people,  and  we  preached  in 
the  streets.  The  night  was  spent  by  many  in  prayer. 
We  baptized  daily  till  almost  the  whole  town  and  neigh- 
borhood were  baptized. 

"We  separated  awhile  to  preach  on  the  frontier.  One 
day  I  was  riding  slowly  to  an  appointment  when  a  woman 
called.  She  told  me  that  she  had  heard  me  preach  the 
day  before,  and  said,  'The  Lord  has  blessed  my  soul;  will 
you  baptize  me?'  She  sent  for  her  sister,  who  had  like- 
wise been  converted  at  the  same  time,  and  desired  bap- 
tism. Her  husband  objected,  but  I  gained  his  consent,  and 
both  were  baptized  in  Deer  Creek,  and  arose  praising  God. 
A  happier  scene  I  never  witnessed.  The  husband  looked 
like  death.  He  walked  seven  miles  to  the  night  meeting, 
and  was  himself  baptized,  with  others,  by  moonliglit.  It 
was  a  common  thing  for  men,  women  and  children  to  Avalk, 
the  darkest  night,  several  miles  to  meeting.  They  carried 
torches  of  hickory  bark.  Many  have  I  baptized  at  night 
by  the  light  of  these  torches. 

"One  day  a  gentleman  overtook  me,  and  we  rode  to- 
gether. I  urged  him  to  turn  to  the  Lord.  He  manifested 
much  anxiety,  and  coming  to  a  running  stream,  he  said, 
"See,  here  is  water;  what  doth  hinder  me  to  be  baptized?" 
I  replied,  "If  thou  believest  with  all  thy  heart,  thou  may- 
est."  He  said,  "I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of 
God,  and  am  determined  hereafter  to  be  his  servant."  We 
aligiited.  and  I  baptized  him,  and  we  rode  on  in  our  wet 
clothes."     Stone's  Life,  73. 

In  1821  the  first  Christian  Church  was  organized  in 
Canada,  on  the  21st  of  March,  at  New  Gwilliamsburg.  A 
revival    took   place  under  young  Allen  Huntley,  and  a  re- 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  539 

quest  was  sent  to  the  States  for  liis  ordination.  Bailey  and 
S.  Bishop  were  sent.  They  ordained  Huntley,  and  all 
joined  in  baptizing  the  converts,  and  organizing  a  church. 
The  Ciiristians  in  Canada  enjoyed  much  labor  from  Elders 
Badger  and  Goff  in  their  youth,  and  others  of  the  best  min- 
isters. Elder  Thomas  Henry,  of  Oshawa,  is  earl}^  named 
as  a  leading  Christian.  In  1845  the  "Christian  Luminary  " 
was  published  in  Canada.  I  enjoyed  a  pleasant  visit  at 
the  house  of  Brother  Henry  a  few  weeks  since  while  at- 
tending the  convention  of  1870.  He  is  still  in  the  vigor 
of  manhood,  after  raising  a  large  family  of  most  excellent 
children,  all  grown  and  settled  in  life.  Among  eight  sons 
none  ever  used  tobacco  or  rum,  or  was  addicted  to  vice  or 
profanity.  They  are  excellent  citizens,  and  leading  men 
in  tiie  church. 

The  "  Christian  Magazine  "  is  now  published  at  Eddy- 
town,  Canada.     T.  Garbut  Editor. 

Writers.  The  Christian  ministers  from  the  beginning 
wielded  able  pens.  A  life  of  Abner  Jones  is  before  me, 
published  in  1807,  before  his  useful  days  had  scarcely  com- 
menced. 

Elias  Smith  was  a  man  of  very  extraordinary  ability 
in  every  respect.  His  works  were  quite  extensive,  embrac- 
ing a  Christian  Magazine,  the  Herald,  a  New  Testament 
Dictionary,  the  American  Physician,  his  own  Life,  and 
other  works. 

Barton  W.  Stone  edited  the  "  Christian  Messenger,"  and 
also  published  some  polemical  works,  and  wrote  his  own 
Life;  also  some  beautiful  Hymns. 

David  Miillard  was  long  one  of  the  ablest  editors.  He 
also  published  some  tlieological  works.  His  Travels  in  the 
Holy  Land  is  considered  one  of  the  best  written  works  on 
that  subject. 

David  Purviance  compiled  most  of  his  own  life;  ming- 
ling  it  with  most  interesting  discussions  on  history,  politics 
polemics,  and  ethics;  all  published  with  well  written  re- 
marks by  his  son,  the  venerable  Levi  Purviance. 

William  Kinkade  would  rank  among  the  most  clear, 


540  CHURCH  HISTGP.Y. 

vigorous  and  interesting  writers  and  clear  minded  theolo- 
gians of  any  age. 

Elijah  Shaw  was  a  chaste  and  convincing  author.  His 
greatest  literary  labors  were  in  the  editorial  chair,  which 
he  long  filled  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  Barr,  Hazen,  Mor- 
rill, Badger,  Goff,  Plummer,  Marvin,  Thomas,  Craig,  and  a 
host  of  others,  will  live  in  future  history. 

Isaac  N.  Walter,  of  C)hio,  was  one  of  the  finest  pulpit 
orators  of  any  age.  He  died  July  9,  1858,  aged  51  years, 
consequently,  the  32  years  of  his  active  ministry  were 
mostly  spent  ere  the  days  of  railroads.  Yet  he  traveled 
as  a  minister  in  the  United  States  over  125,000  miles,  crossed 
the  Alleghanies  fifty  times,  preached  8,185  sermons,  and 
baptized  3.375  persons,  and  married  1,052  couples.  He  was 
a  citizen  of  Oliio  and  often  said,  "•  I'lie  State  of  Oiiio  has 
not  money  enough  to  buy  me  from  the  Christian  ministry." 
Among  the  works  published  by  various  authors  may  be 
reckoned  the  lives  of  Stone,  Jones,  Smith,  Shaw,  Badger, 
Taylor,  Walter,  Thomas,  Fernald,  Purviance,  Baker,  Pres- 
cott,  Mrs.  Roberts.  In  the  books  of  the  Christians,  in  addi- 
tion to  these,  are  the  New  Testament  dictionaries,  by  E. 
Smith  and  J.  Chadwick;  Bible  Doctrine,  by  Kinkade; 
Positive  Theology,  by  A.  L.  McKinne}'^;  Universalism,  by 
P.  11.  Russel ;  The  True  Believer's  Delense,  by  C.  Morg- 
ridge ;  The  True  Messiah  and  Travels  in  Palestine,  by  D. 
Millard;  Freese's  -'Travels  in  Palestine;"  Thomas'  200 
Questions  Answered,  by  J.  G.  Lawshee;  Essays  and  Select 
Works,  by  E.  G.  Holland  ;  Russel's  Letters  to  a  Universal- 
ist;  Maple's  Sermons  ;  Select  Works  of  S.  Clough;  Church 
History,  by  N.  Summerbell ;  and  discussions  by  Summer- 
bell,  Plummer,  Zeigler  and  others;  besides  sermons  pub- 
lished in  pamphlet  form  and  other  works. 

As  pulpit  orators  Kinkade,  Smith,  Walter,  Millard, 
Clough,  Badger  and  Plummer  were  equal  to  the  best  ora- 
tors of  the  modern  pulpit. 

South.  The  White  Pilgrim,  of  whom  so  many  sing, 
was  converted  in  1807.  His  name  was  Joseph  Thomas.  A 
Baptist  refusing  to  immerse  him  unless  he  would  unite  with 
that  church,  he  went  to  Raleigh,  fifty  miles  distant,  and  was 
baptized  by  Elder  R.  Rainey,  and  the  church  gave  him  li- 
cense to  exhort.  In  his  Travels  he  speaks  of  Elder  Debru- 
ler,  the  pious  James  O'Kelle^',  William  Guiry,  Thomas 
Reeves,  Rice  Haggard,  R.  Barretts,  John  Robinson,  T.  Jet- 


NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  541 

ter,  B.  Barnett,  Elder  Bariiett,  and  others  of  the  original 
reformers  who  left  the  Methodist  Church  in  1793,  with  the 
Presiding  Elder,  James  O'Kelley.  He  wrote  his  own  life; 
and  also  a  book  of  Poems.  He  dressed  in  white.  He 
died  at  Elder  Jonathan  Thompson's  residence  in  Johnson- 
burg,  April  9,  1835.  His  monument  is  in  the  Christian 
burying  ground  there.     Elder  J.  Ellis  wrote  the  words 

"  I  came  to  the  spot  where  the  White  Pilgrim  lay." 

Jabez  Ohadwick  was  a  man  of  great  learning.  His  New 
Testament  Dictionary  was  his  most  valuable  work. 

Elder  Benjamin  Taylor  commenced  preaching  in  1808. 
1  heard  him  in  Fair  Haven  in  1810.  He  had  a  fine  look- 
ing Christian  countenance,  and  preached  an  excellent  ser- 
mon.    He  preached  forty-eight  years. 

A.  D.  1810.  Elder  Joseph  Wasson  was  converted  in 
the  Caneridge  revival,  and  baptized  by  Elder  David  Gahey 
in  1810,  in  NorUi  Carolina.  In  1812  he  moved  to  Indiana, 
and  was  ordained  by  Kinkade,  Aulbridge.  Miller,  and  Mou- 
try.  He  planted  several  churches  in  Southern  Indiana. 
He  was  always  Christian.  He  was  firm  when  others  wa- 
vered, and  stood  when  others  fell.  He  died  in  1851,  re- 
spected and  beloved,  leaving  many  churches  to  mourn  his 
loss.  The  late  talented  and  beloved  Elder  Austin  Hutson, 
some  time  trustee  and  student  at  Merom,  married  his  grand- 
daughter^ Lou.  Wasson. 

Stone  was  a  learned  man,  a  teacher,  and  an  able  writer 
as  well  as  a  most  perfect  model  of  a  (Christian  gentleman. 
He  published  several  works.  In  1814  he  published  a  book 
of  108  pages,  embracing  the  following  subjects:  Trinity, 
Atonement,  and  Union,  together  with  a  work  of  D.  Purvi- 
ance  on  Discipline.  His  remarks  on  the  Trinity  and  Atone- 
ment are  not  invidious,  but  defensive,  biblical  and  explan- 
atory. He  was  reviled  for  not  adopting  the  popular  errors, 
and  the  work  was  an  able  defence  of  the  Bible  doctrine 
on  tliese  subjects.  In  1826  he  commenced  a  monthly  pub- 
lication called  the  "Christian  Messenger,"  which  contin- 
ued till  1 843. 


542  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

1815.  The  Christian  Church  was  now  establislied  in 
manv  parts  of  the  country,  and  we  be<iin  to  read  of  Churches 
in  tiie  south  of  twenty  years  standing.  In  tn^  east,  l)r. 
Jones  sajs,  "I  commenced  preaching  in  September  1801. 
About  twelve  covenanted  together  in  Church  by  the  name 
of  Christians."  His  life,  before  me,  was  published  A.  D. 
1807. 

A.  D.  1815,  April  15.  He  speaks  of  Elder  Moses  Safford 
who  had  been  pastor  of  the  Christian  Church  from  its  first 
organization,  November  20,  1806. 

A.  D.  1815,  September  30.  "  A  general  meeting  of 
preachers,  and  a  host  of  people  met  in  (Assonet)  Freetown, 
Mass."  I  find  no  record  of  their  proceedings.  The  names 
of  some  eminent  men  of  God  are  given  :  E.  Smit!i,  A.  Jones, 
M.  Howe,  F.  Flummer,  D.  Farnum.  Then  follow  the  names 
J.  Buzzell  and  E.  Stinchfield,  "  with  two  promising  young 
preachers,  Joseph  Badger  and  John  L.  Peavy  ;"  then  J. 
Colby,  S.  White,  H.  Hobbs.  May  1st,  1816,  Moses  Howe 
was  ordained.  Elder  Howe,  after  laboring  over  half  a  cen- 
tury in  the  Gospel,  greatly  beloved,  is  still  living.  The 
Committee  on  Ordination  were  M.  Fernald,  J.  Harriman, 
E.  Smith,  and  B.  Taylor.  Then  J.  Perkins  and  N.  Burlin- 
game  were  ordained.  A  general  Conference  or  Conven- 
tion was  appointed,  to  commence  "  at  Windham,  Conn., 
June  11,  1816.  Present  P.  Hathaway,  Smith,  B.  Taylor,  L. 
Hathaway,  Foster,  Piper,  Badger,  Capron,  Burk,  Farnum, 
Grossman,  King,  Plummer,  Furgusson,  Sharp,  Burlingame, 
Perkins,  Tuttle,  Lock,  Fernald  and  others."  This  Conven- 
tion decided: 

I.  That  the  ground  of  fellowship  be  the  new  birth. 
H.  That  nothing  should  destroy  this  fellowship  but  sin, 
and  denying  tlie  Father  and  Son. 

HI.  The  Bible  was  accepted  as  a  perfectrule  of  faith  and 
practice. 

The  Scripture  form  of  immersion  prevailed  by  the  choice 
of  the  people,  but  the  charity  which  left  each  church  free 
in  faith  and  fellowship,  left  the  individual  free  also;  and 
many  rested  in  sprinkling. 


TRANSLATONS    AND   AUTHORITIES. 


543 


or  forty  versions  of  the  New  Testament  published  before 
the  ITlh  century,  not  one  teaches  sprinkling;,  as  shown  by 
the  following  table.     All  authority  teaches  immersion: 
Sykiac,      Peshito,  2d  cent,  amad^  immerse. 

Philoxenian,  6th  cent,  amad^  immerse. 

Polyglot,         7th  cent,  amada^  47  times,  immerse. 

Propaganda,         1671.  amada^  immerse. 


Arabic, 


Pi<^RSrc, 
Ethiopic, 


Sabat,  1816.  amada^  immerse. 

8th  cent.  shustan(&  sTiuyidan^ioash. 


4th  cent,  shustan^  immerse. 

1822.  shustan,  hnmerse. 

3d  cent,  tanaka^  immerse. 

2d  cent.  )  7      .•  \  plunge. 

3d  cent.  \      -^  (  innnerse. 

5th  cent,  mogridil^  immerse. 

9th  cent,  hrestiti.,  cross. 

KussiAN,  1519.  Bohemian,  1593.  Livonian,  1685 
Polish,  1585.  Lithuanian,  1660.  Dorp  at,  1727 
Gothic,  4th  cent,  daupjaji,  dip.  Icelandic,  1584,  skira^  cleanse 
Gkrman,  1522,  taiifen  rZv^.  Anglo-Saxon,  8th  cent,  dypjmn 
Danish,  1524:,  dob e^  dip.  Latin  ¥ATiiERS,tingo,  immerse 
Swedish,  15'ij A:,  dop a,  <Z?^.  Hieronymian,  baptizo, immerse 
Dutch,        14:Q0,  doopeii,    dlp.YvLGATESd  c''y  baptizo,immerse 


Amharic, 
Egyfiian,  Coptic, 
"        Sahidic, 
"        Basmuric, 
Armknian 
Slavonic, 


cross. 


French, 

- 

-    1535, 

-     bapt/'ser, 

immerse. 

Spanish, 

. 

1556,     - 

baptisar, 

im'inerse. 

Italian, 

- 

-    1562, 

•     bapttezzare, 

immerse. 

English 

Wiclif, 

1380,     ■ 

10  ash,          ; 
-     baptize,      \ 

immerse. 

t« 

lyndale. 

-    1526,      - 

baptize., 

baptize. 

Wfi-?it, 

. 

1567, 

-     bedyddio, 

bathe. 

Irish, 

- 

-    1602,     - 

baisdim. 

bathe. 

Gaelic, 

- 

1650, 

-     baisdeam., 

bathe. 

Lexicographers,  Historians  and  Commentators. 
Waldems,  1537. — BaTrn^w,  Immerge,  immerse. 
^Stephens,  1572 — Immerse,  submerge,  bury,  wash,  bathe. 
Scapula.,  1579 — Immerse,  submerge,  bury,  wash,  bathe. 
Pa^or,  1637 — Baptize,  merge.    Suicer,  1659 — Immerse. 
Bchervelixis,  1667 — Baptize,  merge,  bathe. 
Lensdeyi,  1671 — Baptize,  merge,  bathe. 
Ilerdericus,  1772 — Merge,  immerse,  bury,  wash,  bathe, 
Schleusner,  1701 — Immerse,  dip,  plunge,  bathe. 
BTeischneider,  1829 — Dip  or  bathe — immerse. 
Donnegan — Immerse    repeatedly  into   a  liquid. 
Passow — Immerse  often,  submerge  ;    baptize,  wash. 
Liddell  d;  /i>coii — 1.  Dip  repeatedly,  sink,  bathe,  baptize. 


544  CHURCH  HISTORY. 

Greenfield — Immerse,  immerge,  submerge,  sink,  wash. 

Parhhurst — Immerse,  plunge.     Bass — Dip,  immerse. 

Jlo'binson—lm\a.Qxs,Q^  sink,  wash.   Stokins—Tii^)  immerse. 

Fathei' Justin  Martyr,  A.  T>.  1^0 — Washed  in  the  water. 

TertuUian,  A.  d.  204 — Dipped,  immersed  in  water. 

Gregory  Nazianzen,  3G0 — Buried  with  Christ. 

Ambrose,  A.  d.  374 — I  believed  and  was  immersed. 

Cyril,  A.  D.  374 — Plunged  in  the   water  and  baptized. 

Chrysostorr\,  A.  d.  398 — KataduestJiai,  plunged,  buried. 

F.  Bremer,  Roman  Catholic.  "  Thirteen  hundred  years 
was  baptism  performed  by  immersion." 

Archhisliop  Usher — "Baptized  under  the  water." 

Wesley  "  Buried. — Rom.  6  :  4.  Alluding  to  the  ancient 
manner  of  baptizing  by  immersion." 

Clarke^  Rom.  6  :  4.    ^lludes  to  baptism  by  immersion. 

Barnes,   Rom.   6:  4.     "Baptizing  by  immersion." 

Luther,  "Baptism  is  nothing  else  than  immersion." 

Calvin.     "  Baptizo  signifies  to  immerse." 

History. —  Waddington — Immersion  the  oldest  form. 

Ifosheim. — "Baptism  was  administered  in  this  century 
by  an  immersion  of  the  whole  body."     I.,  p.  46. 

Second  century.  "The  persons  were  immersed."  I.,  p. 69. 

BaTTTii^w,  in  some  form,  occurs  124  times,  always  mean- 
ing immerse. 

Sprinkle  occurs  27  times.  It  is  never  baptize  i:i  the 
original;  but  some  form  oi raino,  rantizo  or  pao. 

Wash  occurs  28  times,  and  is  Xovo  in  the  original. 

In  1826  Mr.  Campbell  proclaimed  the  Scriptures  the 
only  creed,  and  immersion  lor  remission  the  only  baptism. 

A.  D.  190.  Infant  baptism  appeared  first  in  Africa, 
opposed  by  Terlullian.  Cyprian,  another  African  bishop, 
in  250,  said  that  those  sprinkled  in  sickness,  "must  not  be 
so  deceived — as  to  be  baptized  over." — (Nean.  1.  310;  Mil. 
1.  210.)  Novatian,  bishop  of  Rome,  in  251,  had  been  thus 
sprinkled  which  caused  dissatisfaction,  but  no  one  proposed 
immersion  on  his  recovery.  Constantine,  in  337,  was  bap- 
tized at  the  close  of  his  Christian  life,  many  at  this  time 
deferring  it  till  the  approach  of  death. — Nean.  2.  25.  Those 
called  Arians,  the  most  learned  ministers  of  the  fourth 
centur}'^,  tolerated  aspersion;  and  Papists  and  Protestants 
both  adopted  it.  This  gave  Mr.  Campbell  great  power. 
Two  of  his  three  positions,  the  Bible  and  immersion,  were 
invulnerable.  On  these  he  agreed  with  the  Christians, 
dilTereing  on  the  design  of  baptism,  translating  cis  not 
unto,  but  '•  into''''  and  "  in  order  to^  His  followers  no\r 
very  generally  adopt  the  name  Christian. 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  545 

YOUNG  MENS'  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

This  institution  is  peculiar  to  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  not 
a  church,  but  it  is  a  model  for  all  Churches  in  christian  work,  union 
and  christian  charity.  It  is  the  voice  of  the  layman;  the  right 
hand  of  the  Church,  the  best  organized  army  of  religion  ;  the  out- 
growth of  a  Bible  age;  the  result  of  the  Savior's  sermon  on  the 
mount.  The  first  societies  of  this  kind  were  organized  in  London 
the  Gth  of  June,  1844;  in  Montreal  December  9th,  1851;  in  Boston 
December  29th  of  the  same  year.  Its  annual  conventions  have 
been  held  as  follows: 

1.  New  York,  June  7,  1854  2.  Cincinnati,  September  19,  1855. 
3.  Montreal,  June  19,  1856.  4.  Richmond,  May  21,  1857.  5. 
Charleston,  April  17,  1858.  6.  Troy,  N.  Y.,  July  13,  1859.  7. 
New  Orleans,  April  11,  1860.  8.  New  York,  November,  14,  1861. 
9.  Chicago,  June  4,  1863.  10.  Boston,  June  1,  1864.  11.  Phila- 
delphia. June  10,  1865.  12.  Albany,  N.  Y.,  June  2,  1866.  13. 
Montreal,  June  19,  1867.  They  then  reported  345  Associations, 
and  over  32,000  members. 

CHRISTIAN  CONVENTIONS. 

I.  Tlie  first  Moldern  Convention  of  the  Christians  met 
October  7th,  1819.  From  this  time  on  the  meetings  were 
annual  till  1831,  and  presided  over  successively  by  elders 
John  Rand,  Mark  Fernald,  Daniel  Hix,  John  Spoor,  Har- 
vey Sailings,  David  Millard. 

XIII.  In  1831,  October  3,  the  thirteenth  Convention  met 
in  New  York.  Simon  Clough  was  president,  and  I.  C.  GofF 
secretary.  A  Book  Association  was  formed.  The  "  Chris- 
tian Palladium  "  originated  about  this  time. 

XIV.  A.  D.  1834.  The  fourteenth  Convention  met  in 
three  years,  by  which  the  dates  pass  from  the  uneven  to 
even  numbers.     (Shaw  144.) 

XV.  A.D.I  838.  The  fifteenth  Convention  authorized 
the  appointment  of  David  Millard  as  editor  of  the  Palla- 
dium. The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Book  Association 
purchased  a  printing  office  and  fixtures  of  Elder  Badger, 
the  former  editor.  Failing  to  employ  Elder  Millard  they 
employed  Elder  J.  Marsh. 

XVI.  A.  D.  1842,  October  5.  The  sixteenth  Conven- 
tion met  at  Stafford,  N.  Y.     Eleven  Conferences  were  rep- 

35 


54G  CHURCH  history. 

represented,  by  the  Ibllowing  ministers:  Hazen,  Ross, 
Morrill,  Carrier,  Clongh,  Badger,  Bailey,  Marvin,  Perry, 
Ezra  Smith,  Knowles,  Church,  Barr,  H.  Simonton,  Bradford, 
Fellows,  Osborn.  J.  Hazen  was  cliosen  President;  and 
John  Boss  and  Perry  Lyman,  Secretaries,  Elder  D.  Millard 
was  present;  welcomed  home  irom  his  visit  to  Ihe  Holy 
Land.  Oliver  Barr  and  Jolm  Ross  were  chosen  associate 
editors  of  the  PallacUxim  with  J.  Marsh. 

XVH.  In  1846  the  Seventeenth  Convention  met  at  Union 
Mills,  New  York.  Elijah  Shaw  President,  and  J.  Ross  and 
W.  R.  Stowe,  Secretaries.  The  delegates  present  were? 
Shaw,  Sweet,  Hazen,  Spoor,  Roberts,  Kelton,  Reynolds, 
Stone,  McKee,  Church,  Summerbell.  Visitors:  Badger, 
Ross,  Ford,  Stanton,  Brown,  Fanton,  Hoag,  Buckingham, 
Rider,  Mosier,  Hayward,  Haight,  Morgridge.  Letters  were 
received  from  Barr,  Millard,  Marvin,  and  Morrill. 

The  Book  Association  met  at  the  same  time  and  place. 
Much  sorrow  was  expressed  over  the  death  of  Elder  Clough, 
who  had  been  appointed  at  a  former  meeting  to  conduct  a 
magazine.  The  Executive  Committee  chosen  were  Hazen, 
Ford,  Ross,  Badger,  Marvin,  Stone,  Allen,  Henry,  N,  Sum- 
merbell, and  Jabez  Chadwick. 

XVHI.  In  1850  the  Convention  met  at  Marion  on  Octo- 
ber 2nd.  It  was  largely  attended,  in  consequence  of  an 
extended  call  to  establish  an  institution  of  learning.  D.  P. 
Pike  was  President;  J.  R.  Freese,  Seeretar}^,  W.  R.  Stowe, 
Assistant;  and  A.  Merrifield,  Treasurer;  Vice  Presidents, 
Ross,  Weston,  Wait,  Edmonds,  Kidder,  Craig,  Z.  M.  Ellis, 
Wellons,  Ladley,  Crosby,  Bagley,  Henry.  This  Convention 
founded  Antioch  College;  the  first  college  built  by  the 
Christians  in  America,  and  the  first  ever  built  extending 
equal  privileges  to  the  sexes.  After  expending  over  $200,- 
000  on  this  institution  it  was  sold.  It  was  bought  in  by 
Frank  Palmer,  a  Christian  in  New  York,  and  restored  to  the 
control  of  the  Christians.  It  was  unfortunately  put  under 
a  close  corporation  of  trustees,  who,  failing  to  endow  it, 
gave  its  control  over  to  the  Unitarians;  witii  all  the  mag- 
nificent buildings,  the  college  proper,  the  immense  dormi- 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  547 

tories,  the  President's  house,  the  library,  the  philosophical 
apparatus  and  the  grounds ;  on  the  prospective  condition 
that  they  would  endow  it.  This  was  a  breach  of  trust. 
The  property  will  probably  be  recovered  finally  by  law. 
Hon,  Horace  Mann  was  its  first  president.  The  lustre  of 
his  name  covered  the  institution  with  glory.  Ignorance 
has  called  him  its  founder,  and  attributed  to  him  its  liberal 
ch;iracter.  It  is  now,  virtually,  a  Unitarian  institution, 
radical  and  sectarian,  but  of  a  literary  and  scientific  char- 
acter, which  makes  it  the  Harvard  of  the  west.  This  col- 
lege was  the  result  of  tiie  first  great  effort  of  the  Christians 
in  America,  and  its  towering  spires  will  be  monuments  of 
their  liberality  when  Devore,  King  and  Cory,  with  Ladley, 
Kershner  and  all  who  wept  and  toiled,  will  be  gathered  home. 

This  institution,  now  lost  to  us,  has  been  surrounded  by 
the  affections  of  the  people,  and  hallowed  with  some  of  the 
best  gifts  of  the  Christians.  Dr.  J.  R,  Freese  was  among  the 
first  in  the  preparatory  movement.  Thomas  Holmes,  D.  D. 
Austin  Craig,  D.  D.,  Ira  W.  Allen,  A.  M.,W.  H.  Doherty,  A.  M.' 
and  A.  L.  McKinney  were  among  the  first  professors.  Prof. 
J.B.  Weston,  graduated  there,  continues  with  the  institution. 

Union  Christian  College  was  the  result  of  the  educa- 
tional movement  which  built  Antioch.  This  Christian  In- 
stitution was  founded  in  1859.  Its  first  Board  of  Trustees 
were  Elder  J.  C.  BENNmaTON,  Elder  E.  Barber,  Elder  H.  T. 
Buff,  Elder  E.  W.  Humphrey,  A.  R.  Heath,  J.  N.  Halstead, 
Elder  M.  McDaniel,  Elder  N.  C.  Myres,  F.  S.  McKinney, 
Elder  J.  B.  Robertson,  James  Reed,  I.  P.  Snellson,  Esq., 
and  Elder  L.  Shoemaker. 

The  first  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  Thomas 
Kearns,  Esq.  Vice  President:  A.  W.  Sanford,  Esq.  Sec- 
retary :  N.  G.  Buff,  Esq. 

The  first  Faculty  elected:  Elder  N.  Summerbell,  Presi- 
dent, and  Professor  of  Intellectual  and  Moral  Philosophy. 
Ira  W.  Allen,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Mathematics,  Astronomy 
and  Political  Economy.  Rev.  W.  H.  Doherty,  A.  M.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Logic  and  Belles  Lettres.  Rev.  Thomas  Holmes, 
D.  D.,  Professor   of   Ancient  Languages   and  Literature. 


548  CHURCH    HISTORF. 

Eev.  E.  W.  Humphreys,  Professor  of  Natural  Sciences. 
Mrs.  Lettice  S.  Holmes,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Modern  Lan- 
guages and  Literature.  H.  P.  Hall,  Professor  of  History, 
Botany  and  Geology.  N.  G.  Buff,  Principal  of  Academic 
Department  and  Adjunct  Professor  of  Mathematics. 

Lecturers:  Hon.  A.  W.  Sanford,  Lecturer  on  Constitu- 
tional Law.  L  W.  Booth,  A.  M.,  Lecturer  on  the  Theory  and 
Practice  of  Teaching.  Rev.  L.  W.  Sanders,  Lecturer  on 
Theory  and  practice  of  Agriculture.  Rev.  B.  F.  Summer- 
bell,  Lecturer  on  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

The  school  opened  September  9,  1860,  with  one  college 
class  and  a  large  ^preparatory  department.  Prof.  IraW.  Allen, 
Principal.  Part  only  of  the  professors  were  actually  em- 
ployed. The  building  was  erected  by  Thomas  Kearns,  Esq., 
and  completed  in  1863.  It  is  owned  and  controlled  by  trus- 
tees nominated  by  the  conferences.  The  first  graduate  was  J. 
J.  Snmmerbell,  in  the  class  of  1864.  Elder  N.  Summerbell 
continued  as  president  five  years  ;  when  he  resigned  his 
position  to  Rev.  Thomas  Holmes,  D.  D.,  its  present  head. 
Since  then  it  has  been  endowed,  principally  by  the  exertions 
of  Rev.  A.  R.  Heath,  its  present  treasurer. 

XIX.  A.  D.  1854.  The  Nineteenth  General  Convention 
met  in  Bible  Chapel,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  October  4.  R.  P. 
Stebbins  was  President;  L  C.  Goif  and  I.  N.  Walter,  Vice 
Presidents;  and  N.  Summerbell,  Secretary.  37  Elders 
present  represented  756  ministers. 

XX.  In  1858,  October  6,  the  Twentieth  General  Con- 
vention met  in  Clinton  Hall,  New  York.     President,  L  H. 
Coe ;   A^ice  Presidents,  A.  Stanton  and  Jas.  Maple;    Sec- 
retary, N.  Summerbell;  Corresponding  Secretary,  M.  Cum- 
mings;    Assistant    Secretary,    B.    F.    Shaffer;    Treasurer, 
Henderson  Gaylord,  Esq.     This  session  represented  about 
500  ministers.      The  representative  ministers  were  Cum- 
mings,  Martin,  Bullock,  Salsbury,  Weeks,  Dugan,  Roberts 
Eldridge,  Havens,  Kelton,  N.  and  B.  F.  Summerbell,  Wei 
ton,  Stearns,  Goodwin,  Nicholson,  Tilton,  O.  A.  Roberts 
Esq.,  Powers,  Rodenbaugh,  H.  Gaylord,  Esq.,  H.  Plummer, 
Nash  Burlingame,  Coe,  Edmunds,  W.  Hathaway,  Buzzell, 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  549 

Stanton,  Grime*;,  Cushing,  Biirgdurf,  Phillips,  Henn'- Town- 
er, T.  Kearns,  Esq. 

XXI.  In  1862,  October  1,  the  Twenty-first  Convention 
met  at  Med  way,  New  York.  Amasa  Stanton,  President; 
and  D.  W.  Moore.  Secretary. 

XXII.  In  1866,  October  2,  the  Twenty-second  Conven- 
tion met  in  Marshall,  Michigan.  President,  I.  C.  Goff; 
Vice  President,  D.P.Pike;  Secretary',  D.  W.  Moore ;  Cor- 
responding Secretary,  A.  R.  Heath  ;  Treasurer,  O.  A.  Rob- 
erts. There  were  769  ministers  represented  b}^  delegates. 
The  Biblical  School  and  the  present  Constitution  originated 
with  this  convention. 

XXIII.  The  General  Convention  of  1870.  On  the  11th 
of  October  of  1870,  of  a  beautiful  autumnal  morning,  the 
Twenty-third  General  (Eleventh  Quadrennial)  Convention 
of  the  Christians  of  North  America,  met  at  the  Christian 
Church  In  the  pleasant  village  of  Oshawa,  in  Canada,  on 
the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Ontario.  As  the  hour  of  meet- 
ing approached  every  train  brought  new  faces,  till  the 
village  of  Oshawa  was  enlivened  by  the  presence  of  rep- 
resentatives from  every  part  of  the  country.  From  their 
various  fields  of  labor  they  came  up  with  the  dust  of  travel 
upon  their  garments.  Old  pioneers  of  tiie  church  with 
their  snow  white  locks,  and  younger  veterans  of  the  cross, 
to  whose  hands  the  church  had  entrusted  her  standard, 
met  with  such  greetings  as  they  only  know  who  become 
heralds  of  divine  truth,  union,  peace  and  love  to  a  world 
where  charity  lay  bleeding  at  the  feet  of  bigotry,  which  in 
the  name  of  heaven,  hurled  anathemas  at  men.  The  Con- 
vention was  called  to  order  by  the  president.  Rev.  D.  P. 
Pike,  editor  of  the  "Christian  Herald."  At  10  A.  M.  he 
read  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  first  Corinthians.  Prayer 
was  offered  by  the  venerable  M.  Gardner  of  Ohio. 

STANDING  MEMBERS  EX-OFFICIO. 

1.  D.  P.  Pike,  President  of  the  Convention. 

2.  N.  Summerbell,   Secretary  of  the  Convention  and 
President  of  the  Southern  Ohio  Conference. 

3.  J.  J.  Summerbell,  Assistant  Secretary. 


650  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

4.  I.  C.  Goff,  Secretary  of  Sabbath  School  department 
and  President  of  Spoon  River  Conference. 

5.  M.  Gardner,  delegate  of  the  Southern  Ohio  C. 

6.  O.  J.  Wait,  Vice  President  of  the  Convention,  and 
President  of  the  Merimack  Conference. 

7.  A.  A.  Lay  son.  President  of  the  Southern  N.  Y.  C. 

8.  A.  Craig,  D.  D.,  President  of  the  Biblical  Institute. 

9.  Wm.  Lane,  President  Pennsylvania  Conference. 

10.  Hiram  Hale,  President  of  Northern  Wisconsin    C. 

11.  Wm.  P.  Jones,  President  Ked  Creek  Seminar3^ 

12.  D.  W.  Moore,  President  Southern  Michigan  O. 

13.  Thos.  Holmes,  D.  D.,  Pres.  Union  Christian  College. 

14.  J.  C.  Burgdurf,  President  of  N.  Y.  C.  Conference. 

15.  J.  C.  Emer}^,  President  E.  Publishing  Association. 

16.  J.  Q.  Evans,  President  N.  Y.  Eastern  Conference. 

17.  A.  B.  Van  Name,  President  Erie  Conference. 

18.  A.  W.  Coan,  President  Miami  Ohio  Conference. 

19.  B.  P.  Reed.  President  Maine  Central  Conference. 

20.  C.  Hearing,  President  Eastern  Michigan  Conference. 

21.  Thomas  Garbut,  President  of  the  Canada  Conference. 
Total  number  present,  citizens  not  included,  163. 

All  Christians  present  were  invited  to  participate  in  the 
deliberations. 

HEAVENLY  SPIRITS   OP   UNITY. 

There  -was  no  division  lines  drawn  on  account  of  vari 
ous  shades  of  doctrine.  Men  whose  life  training  had  been 
with  Quakers,  Methodists,  Baptists,  Congregationalists  or 
Catholics,  were  equally  welcome.  It  was  not  a  convention 
of  Catholics,  Protestants,  Baptists  or  Quakers,  but  of  Chris- 
tians representing  the  glorified  hosts  of  the  great  Father's 
family,  when  they  come  up,  not  from  one  sect  or  family,  but 
from  every  nation,  tongue  and  people  in  that  great  day. 
It  was  a  miniature  realization  of  the  answer  to  the  Savior's 
prayer,  "That  they  may  all  be  one,"  and  what  will  be  when 
all  the  sects  unite  in  one  under  the  banner  of  the  Lord. 


CHURCHES   CONFERENCES   AND   MINISTERS. 


551 


CONFERENCES,  CHURCHES  AND  MINISTERS. 

The  Conferences,  Churches  and  Ministers  which  are  re- 
ported as  having  returned  to  the  only  true  Evangelical  and 
Apostolical  order,  adopting  the  Word  of  God  as  their 
only  creed,  Clirist  as  their  only  leader,  joyfuly  confessing 
all  the  good  as  brethren,  are  as  follows: 

Conferences.  Churches.           Ministers.          Members. 

Canada 13  19  1,205 

Deer  Creek 13  13  1,100 

Des  Moines,  Iowa 32  24                 

Eastern  Virgiaia 15                     8  2,500 

Elk  River,  Indiana —  16                  

Erie,  Pennsylvania 22  24  1,100 

Grand  River  Valley,  Mich....  6  11  1,150 

Grant  County,  Indiana —  10                  

Illinois,  Central 26  26  1,355 

Illinois,  Spoon  River —  24                 

Illinois,  Southern 

Mazon  River,  Illinois —                     5                 

Indiana,  Blufton 46  60  3,400 

Indiana,  Central 14  17  700 

Iowa,  Central 8  13  369 

Kentucky 15  11  430 

Mass.  and  Rhode  Island 15  32 

Maine,  Eastern 28  23                 

Maine,  Central —  —                 

Merrimac,  New  Hampshire —  18                 

Miami,  Ohio 52  49  5,060 

Mt.  Vernon,  Ohio 27  23                 

New  York,  Eastern 54  50  3,400 

New  York,  Central 16  35  895 

New  York,  Western 15  14  600 

New  York,  Northern 10  10  205 

New  York,  Southern 13  15  326 

Northeastern  Iowa 20  24  465 

Northwestern  Ohio 5  64                 

Northwestern  Missouri 5                     5  200 

Northeastern  Michii^an 10  17  260 

North'n  111.  and  South'n  Wis..  10  18  500 

North  Missouri 7  13  340 

New  Jersey 14  16  1,175 

Northern  Wisconsin 13  17  260 

Ohio  Central 31  29                 

Ohio  Eastern 14  63  870 

Ohio  Christian 11  11  640 

Osage,  Missouri 13  10  375 

Paasamaquaddy,  Maine —  —  ■ 


552 


CHURCH  HISTORY, 


Conferences.  Churches. 

Philadelphia 4 

Penusylvania 22 

Ray's  Hill,  Pennsylvania 22 

llhode  Island  and  Mass 7 

Richland  Union,  Wisconsin....  12 

Rockingham,  Massachusetts...  14 

Southwestern  Iowa 10 

Southern  Wabash,  Indiana 15 

Southeastern  Michigan 7 

Southwestern  Michigan  13 

Southern  Ohio 29 

Stratford,  New  Hampshire 8 

Tioga  River,  New  York 23 

Tippecanoe,  Indiana 27 

Union  Miami  Reserve,  Ind 20 

Union,  Indiana 5 

Union,  Iowa 11 

Vermont,  Eastern — 

Vermont,  Western 14 

Virginia,  Central 7 

Western,  Christian — 

Western,  Pennsylvania — 

Western,  Indiana , 42 

York  and  Cumberland ,  13 

Others  not  reported,  making  a 

Total  of  eighty 917 


Ministers. 

Hevtseks, 

6 

225 

11 

900 

13 

1,060 

15 

20 

460 

12 

18 

18 

1,000 

6 

18 

700 

24 

4,115 

12 

436 

27. 

576 

25 

1,060 

25 

8 

300 

18 

275 

20 

6 

30 

3,200 

13 

900 

11,94 


44,647 


In  New  York. — Eastern,  Western,  Northern,  Southern,  Central, 
and  Tioga  River — six. 

New  Hampshire. — Merrimack,  Rockingham,  Strafford — three. 

Maine. — Eastern  Passamaquaddy,  York  and  Cumberland — three. 

Iowa. — Des  Moines,  Union,   Central,    Northern,   Southwestern, 
Eastern,  Northeastern,  Rock  Creek — eight. 

Missouri. — North,  Northwestern,  Osage — three. 

Wisconsin. — Northern,  Richland,  Union — three. 

Michigan. — Southwestern,  Grand  River  Valley,  Eastern,  South- 
eastern— five. 

New  Jersey — one. 

Pennsylvania. — Erie,  Ray's  Hill,  Western,  Pennsylvania — four. 

Ohio. — Miami,  Southern,  Central,  Deer  Creek,   Ohio,  Eastern, 
Northwestern,  Mt.  Vernon,  Huron — nine. 

Indiana. — Western,  Tippecanoe,    Bluffton,    Union,    Eel    River, 
Union  Miami  Reserve,  Central — seven. 

Illinois. — Mazon    River,   Central,   Spoon   River,   Southern  Wa- 
bash— four. 
Rhode  Island  and  MassacMisetts — one 

Massachusetts. — Rockingham,  Mass.  and  R.  I. — two. 

Maine. — Eastern,  Central-2,  and  others  making  a  total  of  80 


KIXETEENTII    CENTURY.  553 

The  President's  address  was  an  able  document,  including 
reports  from  N.  Summerbell,  Secretary  of  the  Convention; 
D.  E.  MiUard,  Secretary  of  tlie  Missionary'  Department;  L- 
Coffin,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  J.  E.  Brusli,  Treasurer 
of  Ihe  Biblical  School,  reported  the  present  fund  to  be  $37.- 
810.  50,  Able  and  lengthy  reports  were  also  heard  from 
the  various  publishing  departments;  as  the  "Christian 
Pulpit,"  by  N.  Summerbell;  the  "Christian  Herald,"  by  D. 
P.  Pike;  the  "Christian  Magazine,"  by  T.  Garbutt;  and  the 
•'Christian  Sun,"  by  W.  B.  Wellons.  Dr.  Craig,  President, 
of  tiie  Biblical  Institute,  reported  the  prosperit}^  of  that 
institution.  Dr.  Holmes,  President  of  Union  Christian 
College,  said: 

UNION   CHRISTIAN   COLLEGB. 

"As  an  institution  of  learning  of  a  high  order,  this  col- 
lege is  an  eminent  success.  Those  who  are  already  gradu- 
ated Irom  the  Classical  Department  are  all  scholars  worthy 
to  be  ranked  among  our  best  graduates  of  our  best  col- 
leges. Rev.  J.  J.  Summei'bell,  A.  M.  (son  of  my  worthy 
and  esteemed  predecessor  in  the  presidency,  N.  Summer- 
bell, D.  D.),  a  graduate  of  1864,  is  pastor  of  an  intUiential 
Christian  Churcii  at  Jacksonville,  Illinois.  But  his  influ- 
ence, through  the  "Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty,"  tlie  "Chris- 
tian Pulpit,"  and  personal  acquaintance,  is  as  extensive,  at 
least,  as  the  denomination  to  which  he  belongs.  Rev.  T. 
C.  Smith,  A.  M.,  a  graduate  of  1866,  is  Professor  of  Malhe- 
matics  in  his  Ahna  Mater^  honoring  the  institution  that  has 
conferred  its  honors  upon  him.  Geo.  I.  Reed,  A.  M.,  of  the 
class  of  18G6,  is  editor  of  a  very  influential  newspaper  in 
Peru,  Indiana;  school  examiner  for  the  county,  and  a  high- 
ly respected  and  useful  citizen.  Miss  Martha  S.  Ingersoll, 
A.  M.,  also  a  graduate  of  1866,  is  a  teacher  in  one  of  the 
graded  schools  of  Indianapolis.  The  eloquent  blind  preach- 
er of  Indiana,  Rev.  John  Byrkit, entered  upon  a  course  ot 
theological  study  at  Merom  under  Dr.  Summerbell,  and 
graduated  in  1865,  taking  the  degree  of  B.  D." 

The  Report  on  Publication  says  of  the  "  Herald  of  Gos- 
pel   Liberty:"  "We   recommend    the  enlargement  of  the 


554  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

"Herald"  to  a  quarto  sheet,  and  the  issue  of  the  "Sunday- 
School  Herald  "  weekly  ;  also,  that  all  papers  and  publishing 
interests  among  us  be  united  with  our  Publishing  Associa- 
tion, and  they  be  under  the  control  of  the  American  Chris- 
tian Convention."  It  was  resolved  "that  this  Convention 
approves  of  the  publishing  of  the  '  Christian  Pulpit"  by 
Rev.  N.  Summerbell,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  we  hereby 
pledge  our  sympathy  and  patronage  to  this  most  excellent 
Magazine,  and  recommend  it  to  the  notice  of  the  churches 
North,  South,  East,  West."  It  was  also  "Resolved,  that  we 
approve  of  the  publication  of  the  Christian  Herald  by 
Elder  D.  P.  Pike,  and  hope  that  it  will  find  a  wide  circula- 
tion, especially  in  New  York  and  New  England." 

Printing  was  introduced  into  England  in  1471. 

The  "English  Mercury,"  the  first  secular  newspaper 
published  in  England,  was  started  in  1588. 

TABLE    OF    NEW    CHRISTIAN    PAPERS,    OR    NAMES    OF    PAPERS. 

1807.  The  "Christian  Magazine."     Elias  Smith,  Editor. 

1808.  September  1.  Elias  Smith,  Christian  minister, 
started  the  "  Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty,"  the  first  religious 
newspaper  in  the  world.  The  tirst  No.,  September  1,  1808, 
is  before  me. 

1818.  "Christian  Herald,"  by  Robert  Foster. 

1823.  "  Gospel  Palladium,"  R.  I.,  R.  Potter. 

1824.  "Bethlehem  Star,"  Vt.,  E.  B.  Rollins. 

1825.  "Gospel  Luminary,"  West  Bloomfield,  D.  Millard 
1826-  "Gospel  Banner,"  Woodstock,  Vt.,  J.  Hazen. 
1827.  "Christian  Messenger,"  Ky.,  B.  Stone. 

1831.  "Christian  Palladium,"  N.  Y.,  J.  Badger. 

1832.  "Christian  Luminary,"  Vt.,  E.  B.  RoHins. 
1835.  "Christian  Journal,"  Exeter,  N.  H.,  E.  Shaw. 
1837.  "The  Christian,"  Boston,  J.  V.  Himes. 
1837.  "Christian  Herald,"  Newburyport,  Mass. 
1841.  "Christian  Union,"  Ripley  6.,  M.  Gardner. 
1844.  "Christian  Sun,"  Hillsborough,  N.  C. 

1844.  "Gospel  Herald,"  Dublin,  O.,  I.  N.  Walter. 

1845.  "Christian  Luminary,"  Oshawa,  Canada. 
1847,  "The  Christian,"  Philadelphia,  C.  H.  Plummer. 
1860.  "  Christian  Banner,"  Merom,  Ind.,  Browning  &  Buff 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  555 

1865.  "Christian  Mag.,"  Eddystone,  Canada,  T.  Garbutt. 

1869.  "  Christian  rulpit,"  Cincinnati,  O.,  N.  Summerbell. 

1870.  "Christian  Herald,"  Boston,  Mass.,  D.  P.  Pike. 
JVote.     The  "  Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty  "  is  now  publish- 
ed at  Dayton,  Ohio. 

A  society  was  organized  at  this  convention  to  assist  di- 
vinity students.  Offi.Gers:  I.  C.  Goff,  President;  A.  A. 
Lason,  Vice  President;  A.  Craig,  Treasurer;  A.  W.  Coan, 
Corresponding  Secretary ;  and  H.  K.  McConnell,  Record- 
ing Secretary.  A.  Life  Assurance  Association  was  formed. 
Officers:  F.  C.  Goff,  Cleveland,  Ohio;  C.  Bearing,  Romeo, 
Mich.;  and  I.  H.  Ooe,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 

Rev.  A.  S.  Biddison,  representative  of  the  ''Christian 
Union  Church  "  presented  the  views  of  that  people.  Doc- 
tor Craig,  Doctor  Holmes,  and  the  venerable  Matthew  Gard- 
ner made  a  favorable  report  on  the  union  of  the  two 
churches,  which,  after  a  very  interesting  discussion,  and 
trifling  amendments,  was  adopted.  The  union  may  not  be 
accomplished ;  but  the  Convention  did  well  to  favor  it. 
Union  was  the  heart-principle  of  the  primitive  church 
For  union  Jesus  prayed  (John  17)  and  Paul  contended. 
Union  was  the  loved  principle  of  Eusebius  and  all  thvJ 
Christians  of  the  fourth  century,  when  struggling  against 
the  great  apostasy,  and  division  was  the  watchword  of  the 
Athanasians,  and  the  leaders  of  the  great  apostasy.  Union 
was  the  object  of  O'Kelley,  Jones,  and  Purviance  in  the 
great  movement  of  the  nineteenth  century  ;  in  the  subse- 
quent struggles  of  the  Christians  against  the  carniverous 
spirit  of  the  rising  sects,  when  such  orators  as  Waller, 
Plumraer,  and  Badger ;  such  theologians  as  Clough,  Kin- 
kade,  and  Millard  ;  and  such  shepherds  as  McKinney, 
Gardner,  and  Harvey  consecrated  their  lives  to  the  work. 
The  Christians  occupy  the  only  platform  on  which  all  can 
unite,  and  possess  the  true  spirit  of  union.  They  require 
only  that  all  others,  like  themselves,  shall  agree  to  re- 
ceive the  Scriptures  as  their  only  rule  of  faith,  Christ  as 
their  only  leader,  and  all  Ciiristians  as  their  brethren; 
leaving  each  church  free  in  faith,  fellowship,  usages,  and 
property,  as  did  the  apostles. 


556  CHURCH    HISTviPy. 

AMERICAN   PROTESTANT    ASSOCIATION. 

This  society  arose  out  of  a  feeling  of  insecurity,  growiui^ 
out  of  aggressions  upon  American  liberty  by  Catholics  in 
America;  especially  in  the  imprisonment  of  young  girls  in 
nunneries,  and  pursuing  any  attempting  to  escape  with  such 
organized  force  and  relentless  fury  as  no  individual  power 
could  resist.  The  first  society  was  organized  in  Pittsburg, 
Pa.,  in  1849.  The  first  Grand  Lodge  was  formed  in  New 
York  in  1851.  It  numbered  in  1871,  over  50,000  members 
It  was  organized  none  too  soon,  as  in  July  12,  1871,  the 
Catholics  caused  the  mayor  of  New  York  to  forbid  a  Prot- 
estant (Orange)  procession.  Though  the  procession  marched 
by  permission  of  the  "governor,  protected  by  the  police, 
many  were  slain.  In  1629  the  first  Protestant  association 
of  modern  times  was  formed  by  six  princes  of  Germany. 
It  is  right  thus  to  unite  to  watch  over  the  liberties  of  relig- 
ion, defend  the  church,  protect  the  weak,  and  hold  sav- 
age Roman  priests  in  check. 

CHARACTER   OP   THE    FIRST    CHRISTIAN    MINISTERS. 

The  first  Christian  ministers  were  pastors,  not  persecutors. 
Spiritual  gifts  was  the  treasury  of  the  church.  Tiicy  liad 
no  human  creed,  but  the  word  of  God  grew  and  multiplied. 
They  went  forth,  not  to  scatter  but  to  gather.  The  heresy 
they  abhorred,  was  separation  fi-om  holiness;  and  the  or- 
thodoxy they  loved,  was  love  to  God  and  men.  The  things 
to  which  they  required  assent  were  few,  and  of  a  general 
nature;  such  as  the  sinner  feels  the  need  of,  and  the  people 
comprehend.  All  Avho  were  so  converted  as  to  be  able, 
with  all  the  heart,  to  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son 
of  God,  and  accept  God's  word  as  their  rule  of  life,  they 
embraced  in  their  fellowship  of  love.  They  Avere  too  wise 
to  cramp  the  varied  minds  of  men  in  the  faith  of  a  mortal, 
and  too  good  to  ask  men  of  all  varieties  and  circumstances 
to  think  the  same  on  all  theological  deductions.  They  stated 
facts,  and  urged  repentance  and  salvation.  General 
principles  of  truth,  covered  with   charity,  are  prominent, 


NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  557 

but  no  dead  skeleton  of  sectarian  faith,  like  our  modern 
creeds,  ever  appears. 

THE   HEAVENLY    FAITH    AND    CHARACTER. 

I.  The  Lord  our  God,  is  one  Lord. 

II.  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart. 

III.  If  any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him 
be  anathema. 

lY.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself. 
V.  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto  you, 
do  ye  even  so  unto  them. 

VI.  Christ:  The  only  name  given  for  salvation;  and  re- 
demption by  his  blood. 
VII.  Repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  toward  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

VIII.  Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord 
shall  be  saved. 

JX.  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he   can  not  enter  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

X.  They  held  to  Baptism;  Communion;  Holiness;  and 
Charily 

XI.  They  practiced  strict  conformity  to  the  word  of  God. 
Xll.  They  labored  constantly  to  do  good. 

XIII.  They  had  hope  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and 

XIV.  Life  everlasting  to  those  in  Christ : 

XV.  Endeavoring  in  all  things  possible  to  do  God's  will 
in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 

Such  a  view  seems  alike  true  to  those  comprising  this 
convention,  and  those  who  first  bore  the  message  of  the 
cross  to  a  dying  world. 

I  have  traced  this  church  from  the  days  when  the  Jews 
were  a  nation,  and  by  the  laws  put  to  death  the  first  Chris- 
tians, to  the  days  when  they  lie  in  scattered  fragments 
among  all  nations,  living  witnesses  of  the  truth  of  Christ's 
word.  I  have  traced  this  church  from  the  days  of  sacrifice^ 
to  the  days  of  love ;  from  the  days  of  gladiators,  to  the 
days  of  charity;  from  the  days  of  religious  tyranny,  to  the 
days  when  every  mau  is  free  to  worship  God  according  to 


558  CHURCH    HISTORY. 

the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience;  from  the  day  when  the 
Christians  were  hated  of  all  nations,  to  the  day  when  the 
nominal  Christians  govern  the  world,  we  have  seen  Jeru- 
salem destroyed;  pagan  empires  falling;  heathen  gods 
moldering;  papal  thrones  crumbling;  the  inquisition  rises 
and  falls ;  the  fires  of  persecution  d3'ing  out ;  the  long  dark 
reign  of  creeds  is  expiring,  and  the  triumphs  of  sectari- 
anism is  ending.  The  saints,  under  Jesus  their  only  head, 
have  triumphed  in  the  long  campaign.  Their  constancy 
in  suffering,  their  firmness  of  faith,  their  courage  in  death, 
their  witness  for  the  word  of  God,  their  charity  for  the 
world,  and  their  virtuous  lives,  have  brought  them  deliv- 
erance through  him  who  loved  us  and  gave  himself  for  us. 

The  pilgrimage  of  the  church  has  been  a  tragedy  of 
triumphs;  her  path  of  glory  is  stained  with  the  foot-marks 
of  blood;  and  the  dark  ages  are  lit  up  with  the  funeral 
fires  of  her  martyrs.  She  lived  in  the  midst  of  death.  The 
bush  burned,  but  was  not  consumed.  Kings,  priests^ 
thrones,  and  dominions;  superstitions  and  prejudice  ;  pow 
er,  riches,  learning,  licentiousness,  and  worldly  glory,  have 
all  crossed  her  path,  and  she  was  slain  all  the  day  long. 
They  opposed  her,  but  she  passed  by  them.  They  slaught- 
ered her  children,  but  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  was  the  seed 
of  the  church.  Apostates  called  her  a  heresy,  but  the 
word  of  God  could  not  fail. 

The  great  movement  in  America  is  only -the  beginning 
of  the  end.  The  Christians  commence  no  great  work,  but 
it  becomes  immortal.  In  1793  the  Christians  adopted  the 
Christian  name,  and  it  is  prevailing.  They  took  the  Bible 
for  their  only  creed,  and  its  friends  are  multiplying.  They 
confessed  Christ  as  their  only  leader,  and  others  are  retir- 
ing. They  adopted  open  communion,  and  it  is  prevailing. 
They  resto  ed  apostolic  usages,  and  they  are  prevailing. 
They  bow  to  One  God,  and  this  doctrine  is  obtaining.  They 
plead  for  the  fellowship  of  all  Christians,  and  few  are  now 
so  bold  as  to  oppose  it.  They  started  the  first  religious 
newspaper;  built  the  first  college  extending  equal  privi- 


NINETEENTH    CENTURY.  559 

leges  to  the  sexes;  ordained  the  first  woman  presbyter; 
and  are  still  going  on  adding  new  works  of  reform  to  the 
Christian  temple;  and  separating  the  chaff  from  the  wheat. 
Truth  must  triumph.     Jesus  must  reign. 

On  the  closing  day  of  the  Convention  the  following  offi- 
cers were  elected  for  the  coming  four  years  : 

I.  II.  Coe.,  of  New  Bedford,  President. 

J.  J.  SiLmmerbell^  of  Jacksonville,  Secretary  of  the  Con- 
vention. 

D.  E.  Millard^  of  Jackson,  Secretary  of  the  Missionary 
Department. 

/  C.  Gof.,  of  Henry,  Secretary  of  the  Educational  De- 
partment. 

iV^  Suimnerhell.,  of  Cincinnati,  Secretary  of  the  Publish- 
ing Department. 

D.  P.  Pike^  of  Newburyport,  Secretary  of  the  Sabbath- 
Scliool  Department. 

/.  Chase^  of  Parma,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment. 

After  which  the  following  Vice  Presidents  were  chosen 
for  their  respective  States. 

B.  P.  Reed,  Maine.  0.  J.  Wait,  N.  H. 

D.  R.  Whittemore,  Vt.  B.  S.  Batchelor,  Mass. 

A.  A.  Williams,  R.  I.  E.  H.  Wright,  Couu. 

Irvin  Bullock,  N.  Y.  Wm.  Lane,  Penn. 

H  K.  McConnell,  0.  J.  N.  Spoor,  N.  J. 

Tiios.  Holmes,  Ind.  J.  L.  Towner,  111. 

C.  Dearing,  Mich.  F.  M.  Iams,  Wis. 
Thos.  Henrv,  C.  W.  a.  D.  Kellison,  Iowa. 

These  conventions  of  presidents,  elders,  and  brethren 
remind  us  of  the  primitive  assemblies  of  apostles,  elders, 
and  brethren,  or  bishops,  presbyters,  and  brethren  meeting 
at  Jerusalem  (Acts  15,  or  Antioch,  A.  D.  269)  to  consider 
the  Avelfare  of  Zion.  I  have  traced  the  true  church,  by  a 
succession  of  true  Christians,  the  only  true  succession, 
through  every  century,  without  shadow  of  failure;  and 
we  now  have  the  same  God,  the  same  Savior,  the  same 
Spirit,  the  same  Bible,  the  same  church,  and  we  may  have 
the  same  religion. 


560  CHURCH   HISTORY. 

Unite,  then,  on  the  pure  Word  of  God,  the  only  creed  of 
the  original  church,  and  labor  together  for  a  full  restora- 
tion of  the  ancient  order.  This  is  the  great  reformation  now 
needed  preparatory  to  all  future  success.  Eighteen  hundred 
years  the  precepts  of  Jesus  forbidding  violence  have  stood, 
yet  war  is  as  popular  with  Christians  as  with  savages. 
Eighteen  hundred  years  the  precepts  of  Jesus  have  stood, 
forbidding  divisions  among  his  followers,  yet  divisions  are 
popular.  Eighteen  hundred  years  the  precepts  of  Jesua 
have  stood,  condemning  all  swearing,  yet  oaths  demoralize 
all  our  courts.  Eighteen  hundred  years  the  precepts  of 
Jesus  have  stood,  condemning  pride,  worldliness,  and  glut- 
tony, but  now  the  most  popular  churches  surpass  sinners  in 
these  practices.  The  full  form  of  the  first  commandment 
(Deut.  vi:  4-8)  is  avoided  through  fear  of  its  first  precept 
(Mark  xii:  29),  and  human  laws  are  substituted  as  more 
evangelical  than  the  words  of  Grod.  We  must,  come  back 
to  God.  All  departures  from  His  word,  however  popular,  are 
heretical.  We  must  judge  ourselves  rigidly,  but  those  whom 
we  consider  in  error  charitably,  condemning  none,  however 
unpopular,  to  secure  the  good  will  of  a  worldly  church.  La- 
bor for  God.  Obey  God's  Word,  and  not  the  words  of  men. 
All  that  is  orthodox,  or  essential,  is  plainly  written  in  God's 
book.  On  this,  and  this  alone,  the  good  can  all  unite.  Put 
away,  then,  all  that  is  not  of  heaven,  though  useful  as  the 
right  hand  and  tender  as  the  eye,  and  be  in  union  on  earth 
with  all  those  whom  you  expect  to  meet  in  heaven.  Aban- 
don at  once  all  that  you  must  leave  on  entering  there,  then 
will  God's  kingdom  come,  and  His  will  be  done,  in  earth  as  it 
is  in  heaven. 

"And  the  God  we  worship  now 
Will  guide  us  till  we  die; 
Will  be  our  God  while  here  below, 
And  ours  above  the  sky." 

In  this  hope  I  have  written  this  history,  and  now  lay  it 
upon  the  altar,  for  Jesus  and  his  church. 

God  Supreme,  0  blessed  Father!  bless  the  oflering. 


untxdex: 


Abbadie ^••''?^ 

Abelard 375,  4-15 

Aborak    403 

Abraham 400 

Abrssinians  . .  .424,  473,  474,  475,  512 

Acacius 337 

Adamites 471 

Adeodatus 347 

Adnx 27G 

Adrian 178,181 

Adrian,  Pope 353,  357 

Adrian  II.,  Pope 359 

Adrian  IV.,  Pope 375 

Adrian  V 381 

Adrian  VI 395 

Adronicus  1 455 

Adronicus  II 4G3 

Aelfric 433 

Aeon 110, 115,  116,  118,  120 

Africa 345 

Agapae 4"-23 

Agapetus 341 

Agapetus  II.,  Pope 367 

Agatho 347 

Ages — The  Evangelical  Age 34 

The  Age  of  Conflict 67 

The  Age  of  Triumph 97 

Tlic  Transition  Age 186 

The  Age  of  Persecution 299 

The  Age  of  Catholic  Empire.  .  .337 

The  Dark  Ages 342 

The  Age  of  Temporal  Power..  .352 

The  Age  of  Abominations 363 

The  Age  of  Approaching  Light. 465 
The  Age  of  the  Reformation..  .473 

Agilulf 344 

Agricola 375 

Agrippa. 171,  180 

Agrippa  Castor 139 

Agrippina 171,  180 

Agulus,  Saint 368 

Aigilufus .344 

Alaric 270,  272,  337,  339,  385 

Alban,  Saint 368 

Albejois 462 

All)ert  of  Prussia 481 

Albigenses  .  .  .369,  371,  374,  376,  377, 
379,  .389,  391,  433,  439,  441,  442, 
443,  444,  448,  455-459,  463,  469, 
470,  474,  475,  510. 


TAOB. 

Alciat 492 

A  Icibiades 1 74 

Alexander. .  .  .193,  199,  202,  2u3,  204, 

206,  217,  218,  219,  220,  225,  232, 

2.33,  234.  242,  509. 

Alexander  II.,  Pope 372,  440 

Alexander  III 376 

Alexander  IV 381 

Alexander  V 391,  467 

Alexander  VI 394 

Alexander  VII 397 

Alexander  VII.,  Emperor 432 

Alexander 526,  535 

Alexander  Baucalis 204 

Alexander  Severus 178,  J  84 

Alexander  the  Great 395,  399 

Alexandrian  Library 413 

Alexis,  Emperor 461 

Alexius  I.,  Comnenus,  Emperor.  .446, 

447,  455. 

Alexius  II 455 

Alfred  of  England 431 

Algebra 468 

AH 406 

Allelulia 377 

Allen,  Lyman 530 

Allerton,  Reuben 527 

Altar 310 

American  Protestant  Association.. 556 

Amarath 472 

Ambrose.  .34,  126,  218,  233,  236,  273, 

285,  290,  293-297,  331,   348,  361 
Ammianus  Marcellius..  .219,  285,  287 

Amonius 421 

Amron 412,  413 

Amusements 159 

Anabaptists.  .482,  485,  486,488,489, 

490, 492,  493,  503,  542. 

Anacletus 252' 

Anacletus  II.,  Anti-pope 375 

Ananias 1 70 

Ananus 46,  1 70 

Anastasia,  108;  Church  of 309 

Anastasins   . .   288,  301,  304,  306,  321,. 

323,  327,  333,  334. 

Ana.stasius  II 337,  338,  426 

Anastasius  III.,  Pope 362,  367 

Anciani 443 

Andaeus 297 

Andeus 330,  333: 


5G2 


INDEX. 


Andrews. 
Angelo . 


533 

472 

Angli 377,45-2 

Anhalt 47-),  482 

Anicetus 105,  106,  138.  2o3 

Anne  Boleyn 495,  496 

Anne  of  Oleves "196 

Anno  Domini 38.i 

Anterus 253 

Antliony 194,  361 

Ai'dQGi-OTOKog ^23 

Anselm 451-4o3 

Antichrist 480 

Antioch 141,14-3,  143 

Antioch  College 545,  546 

Anti-pope 366,  370,  371,  374,  375, 

376,  3S2,  388,  400,  466. 

Antonia   307 

Antoninus 94,  152,  178,  182 

Antonio   440 

Apocrvphal  N.  T 165 

Apol]inari3..236, 237, 297,330,  333, 347 

Apollinariua 298 

Apollo 91 

Apology  of  Tertullian 75 

Apostles,  All  the 34 

Peter,  37;  James,  45;  Eighteen.. 49 

Apostolical  Constitutions.    165 

Appian 93 

Aquila 1 74 

Arabia ..394-400 

Arbogastes 295,  296 

Arcadius 285,  293,  m,  3-21 

Archliishop  of  Canterbury. .  .378,  380 

Archbishops 241,  312 

Archilaus 119 

Ariadne 304 

Arians  .108,  140,  186,  204,  298,  302, 
304,  305,  306,  307,  309,311,314, 
322.  3-23.  326,  3-29,  330,  331,  333, 
335,  336,  337,  339,  3P\  344,  350, 
352,  354,  355,  356,  357,  3.'i8,  359, 
3(U,  363,  385,  386,  388,400.412, 
415,  417,  419,  421,  422,  4-24,431, 
439,  441,  460,  463,  465,  473,  474, 
492,  493,  494,  496.  501,  502,  504, 

The  Whole  World 257 

Adhered  to  Bible 328 

Character  of 207-295 

Clergy  Slaughtered 342 

Deceive  Catholics. .  .278,  313,  332 

Numbers. 227,  244 

Skilled  in  Language 329 

Historians  of 140 

Arianism  197,  202, 203.  240,  280,  291 , 
283,  293,  302,  315,  316,  322,  326, 
328,  340,  345,  346.  368,  SM,  385, 
3^6,  387,  389,  4-22,  432,  472,  473, 
483,  492,  504-507,  508,  513. 
No  New  Doctrine 208 


PAGE. 

Arian  Martyrs 276,  281 

Arilastus 443 

Arius 193-195,  198,  199,  202--204, 

206-209,  214.  216,  217.  218.  222, 
223,  224,  227,  228,  230,  233,  238, 
239,  240,  241,  242.  243,  249,  v50, 
276,  331,  339,  3J6,  385,  387,  4:-0, 
421,  508,  509. 

Arminianism 472 

Arminians 461,  462 

Arnold 366 

Arnoldus 464 

Arsacius 321 

Arsacius 334 

Artemas. .    1 25 

Arthemius 302.  303 

Arthur,  son  of  Henrv  VII.  of  Eng- 
land  .' 494 

Ascholius ...  314 

Askew,  Ann 497 

Aspar  Declines  the  Throne   .301,  302 
Assassins  (Old  Man  of  the  Mt'n)  .461 

Assembly  of  Robbers 328,  336 

Athalaric .  .    340 

Athanaric 311,  314,  317,318 

Athanasius.  . .  53,  128.  193.  194. 196, 
203,  206,  217,  220,  222,  224,  229, 
234,  236,  242,  254,  255.  256,  257, 
258,  270,  277,  278,  280,  281,  282, 
285,  298,  3-22,  331.  358;  361,  3&7, 
400,  421.  500,  509. 

Atheism  and  First  Christians 164 

Athenadorus 1 64 

Athenais 321 

Attains 174 

Atticus 206 

Auditors 121 

Augsburg  Confession 483,484 

Auo'ur  299 

Augustine! .  '113,  121,  233,  247,  288, 
291,  295,  296,  297,  333,  371,  372, 
375.  378,  423. 

Augustulus 303 

Augustus 178,  179,  189 

Aulbridge 541 

Aurelian .   125, 126, 129, 131, 171, 177, 

178,  185. 
Austin.  .     54,  257,  261,  315,  362,  363, 
377,  378,  452. 

Antharius - 344 

Autolvcus 110,176 

Auxentius..236,  312,  321,  329,  331,  333 

Avaristus 252 

Avignon 3S3,  386,  388 

Avitus 303 

Avesha 408 

Babylon 36,  229,  251-260,  306 

Bacon 464 

Badger   535.  539,  540 

Bailey ^^^9 


INDEX. 


563 


B^irt7.et 394,4:}8 

Biililwiiu   Crusader 436 

Baldwin  I.,  Emperor 4()1 

Balvlas ne 

Baptism.  78,  108,  147,  1G3,  236.  244, 
2.-)3,  294,  333,  352.  3o4,  37!»,  4lo, 
418,  422,  430,  4:>0,  451,  456.  457, 
4(:6,  473,  477,  484,  485,  489,  49(», 
493,  :m,  514,  524,  533,  538,  542, 
543. 
Baptism.  75,  165,  373,  374,  463,  500, 
53G-543. 

Baptistery       277,422 

Baptists  ■  489,  490,  491.  503,  515,  517, 
523  525,  526,  527,  540,  542. 

Barbeyrac 295 

Bardesanes 157, 175 

Barmado 384 

Barnabas 63,  141 ,  152 

Barnes,  Albert 280,  467 

Baronius.  .256,  284,  360,  361,  365,  414 

Barsumas 329 

Barttiolemew,  Apostle 1 39 

Basil  . .  .193,  270,  284,  300,  301,  307, 
319,  333. 

Basil,  Emperor 355,  432,  444 

Basil,  the  Macedonian  Emperor.  .  .430 

Basilides 139,  474 

Basilidians 251 

Basilius 446,  455 

Basilius  Ancyranus 204 

Basnao;e 276,  293,  336 

Bassillidus 209 

Bates 533 

Bauer 127 

Bazaine 411 

Beast..  .  .39,  190,  229,  249,  268,  390, 
391,  394,  412,  415. 

Beausobre 393 

Becket 451-554 

Bede 345,  367,  381,  382,  383 

Beghards 465 

Bchram 119 

Belisarius.  .307,  340,  341, 345,  357,  513 

Bells 366,  463 

Ben  Barriah •. 380 

Benedict 341 

Benedict  IT.,  Pope 348 

Benedict  III  ,  Pope 357,  359 

Benedict  IV.,  Pope 361,  367,  368 

Benedict  V.,  Pope 365,  367 

Benedict  VI.,  Pope 366,  367 

Benedict  VIT.,  Pope 366,  367 

Benedict  VIII 370 

Benedict  IX 370  371 

Benedict,  Anti-pope 371 

Benedict  X .383 

Benedict  XI   383 

Benedict  XIII.,  Anti-pope.  .  .388,  890 
Benedict  XIII.,  Pope 398,  467 


PAGE. 

Benedict  XIV 398 

Bernardino  Ochino 486 

Bertha 378,  452 

Berthier 399 

B&rvUus 138,213 

Bible  10-21,  26,  49-97,  328,  399,  418, 
423,  433,  472-473,  475,  498,  511, 
515,  517,  518,  520,  525,  536,  ri44 

Bible  Society 399 

Biddle 504 

Bishop  .59,  66  96,  107,  119,  130, 1.34, 
161,  184,  189,  190,  192,  199,  202, 
203,  206,  223,  230,  235,  241,245, 
246,  251 ,  265,  276,  278,  279,  290, 

345,  406,  419,  493. 

Bishop,  S 539 

Bishops  Ignorant 325,  326 

BishoDS  Immoral 343 

Bishops  of  Rome 252,  2H,  400 

Bishop,  Universal 346,  412 

Boadicea 364,  451 

Bogomili 446 

Bohemond , 436 

Bolandus 284 

Boniface 350 

Boniface  1 261,  335 

Boniface  II 340 

Boniface  III 346 

Boniface  IV 346 

Boniface  V 346 

Boniface  VI 360. 

Boniface  VII.,  Anti-pope.  .  .366,  367, 
382,  3S3. 

Boniface  VIII.,  Pope 465 

Boniface  IX 386,388 

Boni  Bomines 433,  442,  443,  443 

Borromio 49:2 

Bourdin,  Pope 378 

Bowers     334,  335.  336.  337,  339,  340, 

346,  347,  348,  350,  354,  357,  3.")9, 
360,  361,  365,  366,  371,  374,  375, 
376,  377,  382,  383,  384,  394,  395, 
396,  412. 

Boyle, ...  192,  202,  206,  207,  226,  230 

Brethren  of  the  Free  Spirit 444 

Brewster 371 

Bryant 268 

Bncer 486 

Buchanan 473 

Bulgari 433,  443,  443 

Burgundy 314 

Burton..' 123 

Bush,  Geo 100,  269,  271,  ::80 

Byzantium 240,  245,  251 

Oadijah 394,  402,  408 

Cadorna 407.  410 

Cael 368 

Cfesar 364 

Caiaphas 170 

Caius 138,  253 


664: 


TNlDEX. 


PAGE. 

Cajatan 479 

Caled 410 

Caligula 178,  179 

Callistus 253 

Callistus  II.,  Pope 374 

Callistus  III 393 

Calvin 475,  486-^87,49:2 

Calvinism 374,  501,  513,  515 

Calvinists 279,293,489 

Campanus,  John 494 

Campbell,  A 303,  413,  542-543 

Caneridge 515,  519,  5:20,  533,  541 

Canon 49 

Caracalla 178,  183 

Cardinals,   272,   371,   374,   375,   376, 

3S5,  3S«,  388,  391,  39:2,  394,  396, 

410,  468,477,491. 

Carduella 382 

Caribert 452 

Carius 178,  185 

Carlostadt 475,  482,  485 

Caroline,  (Queen  of  Geo.  111.)..  .503 

Carr,  J.  J 530 

Cams 178,185 

Caseny 408 

Cassius 18^ 

Castor  and  Pollux 295 

Cathari 433,448,457 

Catharis 442 

Cathol 336 

Catholicism   ..   193,  228-229,  230-413 

416-419,  441. 
Catholics.  .140,  165. 177,  230,293,298, 

305,  307,  323,  329,  331),  342,  349. 

422,  424,  441,  455,  459,  461,  464, 

465,  468,  496,  498,  501,  511. 

Cave 250 

Cecilian 246 

Cel 368 

Celeslinus 33o 

Celestine 375 

Celestine  II.,  Pope 375 

Celestine  III 377 

Celestine  IV 380 

Celestine  V 382 

Celestius 371,  372 

Celestus 1<^8 

Celibacv   .336,  340,  342,  345,  348,  361 

364,  371,  372,  377,  378,  418,  454, 

456,  461,  464,  467,  496,  522. 

Celsus 88-90,  94  96,  160 

Celts.. 262 

Centurions 81 

Chadwick,  Jabez 541 

Chalmers 500 

Channing 483 

Chanter 190 

Chaplains  CArmy) 248 

Chatel 442 

Charity 157 


Chftrlemagne 353,  399,  419,  460 

Charles  Martel 416 

Charles  I.,  of  England 493 

Charles  II.,  of  England 493 

Charles  V.,  Germany. .  .481,  482,  492, 
494,  495. 

Charles  VI.,  of  France 388 

Chase   524 

Childeric 331,  332,  335,  339 

Childeric,  of  France 348 

Children  Among  Pagans  98-99 

Chilperic 332 

Xprjiiarioat 143 

Christ 21-26,  209-215,  401,421 

Birth 10 

Character 12,15,401 

Likeness 14,  236 

Son  of  God.  17-19 

Christian  Association 545 

Christians. 2-22,  223.  224.  231-413,  430- 
445,  474,  465,  512-529. 
Ministers.  .531,  532,  540, 541,  544- 
546. 

Schools 545-548 

Who  Are? 241 

Writers   539,540,541 

Christians  (name) 143,  238 

Christopher,  Emperor .  .432 

Christophorus,  Pope 363,  367 

XgioTOTOKog 323 

Chrysostom 126,  151,  292,  321 

Church 28-36 

Churches,  100  Seized 311 

Cicero 93,196,299 

Ciceronian 299 

Cimri 263 

Cincinnati  Commercial 416 

Circumcellions 248,  363 

Clark 499 

Clarke,  Dr.  Adam 135 

Clarke,  Dr.  S 501,  504-507 

Clarkson 325 

Claudius.  .  .85, 170-171,  178, 179, 180, 
185. 

Claudius 365 

Claudius  the  Second 178 

Clayton 499,509-510 

Clemens 164: 

Clement..   54-56,58-61,118.139,155, 
156,157,161.168,174,209,252. 

Clement  II.,  Pope 371 

Clement  III.,  Anti-pope 374 

Clement  III.,  Pope 377 

Clement  IV 381 

Clement  V 383,  465 

Clement  VI 384 

Clement  VII.,  Anti-pone. 384,385,  388 

Clement  VII.,  Pope 394,  395 

Clement  VIII 396 


INDEX. 


565 


PAGE. 

Clement  TX 397 

Clement  X 397 

Clement  XI   398 

Clement  XII 398 

Clement  Xli 398 

Clement  XIV 398 

Cletus 252 

Clinici 148 

Clotilda..  .314,  332,  333,  335,  336,  837 

Cloud,  W 5'^.J 

Clou-li    532,  540 

Clevis.  .  .  ,197,  314,  331-334,  335-339, 
306,  385. 

Coel 368 

Colo,  Joannes 455 

Columbanus 339 

Commodus Ill,  178,  183 

Communion..  .  .150,  151,  153,  154,  319 
337,  371,  418,  428,  429,  463,  496 

Conculiines 454,  467 

Conlereiices  in  America 551 ,  552 

Confession  284,  379,  456,  466,  467, 498 

Contiict,  The  Age  of 67 

Congregationalist 132 

Couon,  Pope 348 

Conrad  III.,  Crusader 437 

Constans. 248,  249, 256,  277,  300 

Constans  II 426 

Constantia 227,  236,  240,  241,  440 

Constantino.  ..152,  153,  154,  178,  185, 
187,  188,  189.  190,  193,  19G,  197, 
204,  206,  207,  217,  221,225,229, 
230,  233,  234,  235,  236,  238,  239, 
242,  243,  244,  245,248,249,251, 
254,  259,  263,  264.  265,  267,  268, 
269,  270,  271,  273.  277,  278,  279, 
280,  300,  312,  331,  36S,  400,  452, 
542. 

Constantine  III 426 

Constantiue  IV 429 

Constantine  V..  (Copronymus)..  .410, 
4iG-427,  430. 

Constantine  VI 427 

Constantine  VII 432 

Constantine,    Son    of     Romanus, 

Emperor 432 

Constantine  IX 432,  444 

Constantine  XI 446 

Constantine,  Last  Emperor 472 

Constantine,  Monomacluis   445 

Constantinople. 240,  245,  306,311,314, 
414-415. 

Constantius 178,  185,  187,  367,  368 

Constantius  .  .24-!,  277,  278,  279,  281, 
283,  289.  307,  312,  332, 

Constantius  Chlorua 300 

Constantius  Coptonyraus 348 

Constantius.  Pope 3'')0 

Consubstantialists.  .230,  238,  242,  278, 
294,  325,  34G,  356,  388,  393. 


PAGE. 

Conventicle  of  Rohhers 328,  336 

Convention.  .  .  .539,  544-546,  .548-.')54, 
555-550,  559. 

Conversion 162-163,  438 

Cornelius 107-109,  150,  253,  485 

Cosmas 265,  266 

Council.  .  191,  192,  203,  208,  245,  328, 
331,  335,  337,  347,  349,  353,  354, 
350,  357,  371,  372,  388,  392,  419, 
427,  436,  468,  496. 

Of  Aix  La  Chapelle 354 

Of  Anjou ..380 

Of  Antioch..  .124-130,    138,    177, 
185,  213,  220,  245,  250. 

Of  Aries   ...246 

Of  Arminium 329 

Of  Basil 389 

Of  Basle 430 

Of  Bragne 272 

Of  Carthage 54 

Of  Chalcedon   .320,  329,  330,  339, 
346. 

Of  Clermont 369,  436 

Of  Compeigne 349 

Of  Constance 389,  391,  469 

Of  Constantinople.. 283,  292,314, 

316,  317,  324,  338,342,  344, 
345,  355. 

Of  Ephesus.. .  .323,  324,  326,  327 
Of  Ephesus  II .  ,323,  328,  329,  394 

Of  Ferrara 392,  468 

Of  Florence 389,  471 

Of  Laodicea. '.53,  134 

Of  Lateran..  .   342,  ,375,  376,  377, 

378,  379,  441,  460. 

Of  Macon 339 

Of  Milan 256 

Of  Nice..  .106,  202,  206-228,  240, 

249,  268,  271,  277,  283,  313, 

317,  32U,  339,  389,  393,419, 
473,  480,  502,  508,  509, 

Of  Or.ange 335 

Of  Orleans 1,52,  4,57 

Of  Pisa 389,391,467 

Of  Placentia 

Of  Prague 343 

Of  Rheims 378 

Of  Rimini 278,  316,  369 

At  Rome 416,463 

At  Sardica 2.50 

At  Sardis 276 

At  Selencia 222 

At  Sirmium..  .250,  256,  257,  277, 
281. 

At  Toledo 343,  343 

At  Toulouse 379 

At  Trent 394,491 

At  Troyes 355 

At  Tyre 249 

At  Vienne 382 


5G6 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Council,  At  "Worms 481 

Council,  Quintisext 348 

Covenant 51 

Ciara,  Nancv 529 

Crannier   . .'. 475,  486,  495,  497 

Creature,  Christ  not  a '201 

Creed 437,  477 

Creed,  Antiochean 224 

Creed,  Apostles' 167-170,496 

Creed,  Athanasian.. 323-3:28,  330,  428, 

496,  509. 

Creed,  Luther's 484 

Creed.  Nicene   . . .  115,  186,  217,  226- 

228,  230-231,  238,  2.'4,  255,  259, 

266,  273.  293,  301,  311,  315,  320, 

328,  330,  354,  366,  461,  496,  501, 

509. 

Creed  of  First  Christians 166 

Creed,  Roman 323-326 

Creed,  Sirmian 281 ,  333 

Creed  that  "  Dropped  from  Heaven" 

114. 

Crescent 400 

Crispin 187,  191 

Crispus 239 

Croisez   450,  4.51,  462 

Cromwell 498,  510 

Crusades.  .377,  380,  435-438,  444,  446 

450.  458. 

Cubricius. 118 

Cybelle 346 

Cyprian,..  76-79,   113,    132,  147,  150, 

151.  161,  162,  176.  2,53,  542,  543 
Cyril     53,  238,  298,  325,  327,  330,  335, 

361,405. 

Cyril,  of  Alexandria 422 

Cyril,  of  Jerusalem 330,  333 

Cyrus ; 398 

Dahnatius 325 

Damascius 238 

Damascus 410-41 1 

Damasus 276,  283-288,  305 

Damasus  II.  Pope 371 

Daminianus 365 

Damophilus 257,  259,  311 

Daniel 25 

Danophilus 288 

Dark  Ages,  the 342 

Datius 341 

Deacon..  .  .96,  130,190,  199,  247,248, 

265,  286,  289,  493. 

Deaconess 84,  85,  134-136, 190 

Decius.78,  79,  171,  176,  177,  178,  184 

Defender  of  the  Faith 395,  495 

De  Ira. 377 

Demiurge 1 15 

Demon 1 64 

Demoniacs 320 

Denizens 191 

Derar 410,41) 


PAOB. 

Descartes 453 

Deus-dedit — Pope 346 

Devil 268,  269,  279 

Devils 164 

I>ia 368 

Diathelce 51 

Didius 178,  183 

Difficulties 434 

Dinoth  the  Abbot 373 

Diocletian      .  .  .57, 118,  171,  178.  185, 

187,  366. 
Dionysius     54,  79,  109,  124,  130,  131, 

i64,  213,  253,259,  359,  388. 

Dionysius  Exiguns 383 

Dioscorus 3'-9.  422 

Disciples  of  Christ  ("Campbellites") 

519,  543,  544. 

Divinity  School 464 

Divorce   349 

Dodge,  Reuben 524 

Dol 370 

Domitian 171, 173,  178,  180 

Donatists   .186,  228,    246,    247,   248, 

2:)4,  259,  288,  296,  297,  298,  316, 

345,  361,  363,  424. 

Donatus 246,  247 

Donus 347 

Donus  II 366,  367 

Dooley.  .   526,  533,  534,  535,  536,  537 

Door-keeper 190 

Dragon.  .190,  229,  249,  251,  262,  263, 

264,  265,  266,  267,  269,  270,  296 

Dragoons 512 

Druids   262,  273,  350,  364 

Du  Fresne 443 

Dunlavy,  John.  .519,    521,    526,    533, 

543,  545. 

Dunstan 451-454 

Dupin      197,  236,  290,  293,  335,  340, 

348,  370,  382,  400. 

Dux  Soranus 319 

Dvarchy 209 

Dver 526 

Easter.   69,  104-107,   121,   141,  149, 

152,189,253,317,  360,362. 

Ebion 112 

Ehionite.  .  .88,  103,  111,  112,  200,  201 

Eccard . 364 

Eckius 480 

Edgar 453 

Edicts.     .289,  293,  294-295,  297,  305, 

307,  308,  311,  313,  319,  323,  338, 

340,390,479,481,489. 

Education 163-164 

Edward  VI.,  of  England.  . .  .496,  497 

Edwin 382 

Edwy 452,4.53 

Egilhert,  Archbishop 451 

Eight  Propositions 393 

KKKXijaia 14:3 


INDEX. 


567 


rA  GK. 

Elder 130 

Eldest  Son  of  the  Church. .  .331,  338, 
3(;g,  413. 

Elect m 

Elgira 45-2 

Elizabeth,  of  England.  .390.  494,  4'J7, 
498. 

Elipand 3-^3 

Ella 377 

Ellia,  J 541 

Eliitherius 2.'J3 

Emperors,  Roman.  .  ,178-185,  300-303 

England 3G2-383,  451-454,  494 

English  Church..  .  .494,  495,  498,  501, 
.504,  511,  512. 

Ephraim 236 

Epiphanius 54,  195,  210,  331,  4.56 

Erasmus.  .472,  475,  479,  489,  490,  499 

Ernest 475,48-2 

Ertenki-Mani 119 

Ethelbert.  of  Kent.  ........   377,  4.52 

Eucharist  (see  Communion)..  153,  284, 
347,  482,  485,  486. 

Euchites 4.55 

Euchrosia 290 

Eudocia  302 

Eudocia,  Empress 446 

Eudoxia 302,  321 

Eudoxius 28.'),  332 

Eugenius  .278,  295,  296,  301,  346,  347 

Eugenius  II. ,  Pope 3.56 

Eugenius  III 375 

Eugenius  IV 392,  393 

Eulalius 335 

Eunomians. . .  .286,  289.  293,  294,  302 
Eunomius  .  .  .292,  293,  294,  333,  359, 
420,  421. 

Euodia 134 

Euoptius 237 

Eusebius.  .   53,  54,  55-57,  66,  67,  104, 

105,  110,  116,  124,  12.1,  126,  127, 

130,  133,  136,  137,  138,  139,  140, 

14.5,  147,  152,  154,  157,  164,  170, 

173,  174,  175,  189,  191,  192,  193, 

196-197,  19!»,  202,  203,  205,  206, 

207,  212,  '214,  218,  221,  223,  224, 

225,  226,  228,  232,  2.33,  234,  235, 

236,  237,  242,  249,  257,  259,  264, 

297,  301,  330,  333,  3.59,  485,  509. 

Eusebiusof  Nicomedia..l99,  204,  206, 

218,  228,  233,  239,  240,  244,  269, 

297,  330,  333. 

Eustathius  Sebastenus     204,  206,  207 

Eutyches  ....   324,  328,  3>9,  336,  ,342 

Eutychians.  .186,    324,  329,  330,  333, 

3.37,  339,  341,  400,  412,  431,  433, 

445,  471,  473. 

Eutychianus 253 

Eutychism 432 

Euzoius 279 


Evagriug 140,  346,  347 

Evangelical  Age 34 

Extreme  Unction 456 

Fabinus 253 

Fathers  All  Arian 484 

Faust 471 

Fausta 187, 239 

Faustinus 285 

Faustus 121.  423 

Favorius 1 81 

Felice 395 

Felicitas 175 

Felix 253,  286 

Felix  ( Bishop,  of  Spain) 353 

Felix  III 3.37 

Felix  V. ,  Anti-pope 392,  393 

Ferdinand 481,  494,  497 

Ferdinand,  of  Austria 482 

Ferrar 497 

Filioque 354 

Firmillian 80, 125,  126, 131, 132 

Fisher 496 

Flamens 300 

Flanninus 333 

Flavianus 328,  329 

Fleury.  .  .273,  278,  279,  324,  340,  .343, 
349,  354,  360,  379,  429,  433,  464 

Floriau 178,  185 

Formosus 360 

Formosus,  Pope 356,  360,  367 

Fortunation 2.57 

Foster,  Nathan 524 

Fox 510 

Fox.  Geo 511 

France 334,  366,  499 

Francis  II.,  of  France 497 

Frederick,  Elector 481,  482,  485 

Frederick,  of  Germany 375,  380 

Freese 531 

Freewill  Baptists 529 

Frescati,  Count  of 370 

Fretella 270 

Friga 343 

Fundamental,  Trinity  not 201 

Funerals 1  S3 

Galba 172,  178,  ISO 

Galerius 178,  185,  187,  188 

Galileo 491 

Gallican  Church 388 

Gallien   178,  185 

Gallienus 256,  271 

Gallus 178,  184,  280 

Garbut,  T 539 

Gardner 526,  534,  535 

Garnet. 397 

Gastrel 506 

Gelasius  1 337 

Gelasius  II.,  Pope 378 

Genbrard 368 

Genseric 302,  303,  322,  331,  385 


568 


INDEX. 


George 334 

George  III.,  of  England 503 

George,  of  Brandenburg 475,  482 

Georgius 333 

Gerard  Sagerelli 4()3 

German 2fi0 

German  Baptists 510 

Germauus 335,  375 

Geta 183 

Gibbon... 85-87,  90,  92,  94,  96,  111, 
12!),  13(1,  140,  146,  156,  190,  193, 
195,  196,  197,  200,  218,  220,  222, 
233.  236,  263,  269,  271,  279,  280, 
282,  287,  288,  292,  296,  297,  299, 

300,  301,  303,  304,  3is5,  306,  307, 
308,  309;  310,  316,  318,  319,  333, 
337,  338,  340,  342,  343,  344,  345, 
352,  353,  355,  363,  367,  3(58,  3U9, 
394,  397-399,  402,  40S,  409,  410, 
i>2,  428,  437,  460,  467,  474. 

Gildas 370 

Glycerius 303 

Gnosis 115 

Gnosticism 110.  112, 114-124,  130 

Gnostics 103,  114-l-,>4,  218,  291 

Godesclialcus 4"28 

Godfrey,  Duke  of  Loraine 436 

Goff,  I.  C 529,539 

Gondeband 272,  332 

Gordian 178,  184 

Gospaler 483 

Goths 261 ,  268,  271 ,  274,  352 

Gratian .  277,  286,  287,  296,  299,  300, 

301,  304,  305. 

Grave-diggers 1 90 

Gray,  Jolin 524 

Greek  Church 446,447,  461 

Greeli-schisms 186,  445,  471 

Green,  Caleb 528 

Gregory   .  .   193.  2.30,  236,  283,  298, 

3.")6,  452. 

Gregory,  Anti-pope 370 

Gregory  Nazianzen     54,  233,  281,  28.3, 

288,    301,  307-310,  312-313,  316, 

318,332. 

Gregory  N yssen 237 

Gregory,  Pope 173 

Gregory  11.,  Pope   .278,  350,351,  416 

Gregory  III.,  Pope 331 

Gregory  IV. ,  Pope 357 

Gregory  V  ,  Pope 366,  3(57 

Gregory  VI.,  Pope 370 

Gregory  VII.,  (see  Hildebrand)..37-2, 

391,  414,  439-440,  444,  447,  448 

Gregory  VIII.,  Anti-pope 374 

Gregory  VIII.,  Pope 376 

Gregory  IX 380 

GregorVX 381,389 

Gregory  XII 467 

Gregory  XIII.,  Pope 396 


Gregory  XIV 396 

Gregory  XV 397 

Gregory  XVI ".399 

Gregory  Thaumaturgua.  113, 138,164, 

301, 
Gregory  the  Great 339,  341,  344, 

346,  377,  378,  412,  425. 

Gribaidi  and  Alciat 492 

Grotius. ] 34 

Guise,  Duke  of 465,  497 

Gunpowder  Plot 397,  498 

Hadrian 94, 139 

Hadrianople    304 

Hagar 288 

Hardy 526 

Harvey    526 

Hathaway 524.  527 

Haweis 69,97,194,216,  237,238, 

240,  241,  280,  291,  292,  293,  296, 

297,  343,  347,  373,  374,  375,  377, 

422,439,  444,448,466,467. 

Hallem    467 

Hays 5-26 

Hazen 5"i6 

Hedges,  Sarah 5"id 

Hedwige 466 

Hegesippus. . .  .136-138, 140, 173,  205, 

366. 

Helena 241,  367,  4.52 

Heliogabalus 178.  1  ^3-184 

Heltat 370 

Hengist 369 

Henry 118 

Henry,  Thos 539 

Henry,  of  England 453,  454 

Henry,  of  Toulouse 4.56 

Henry,  Emperor  of  Germany .  .370,  374 

Henry  II.,  of  England..  . . .' 375 

Henry  II.,  of  France 497 

Henry  V.,  Emperor  of  Germany.  .378 
Henry  VII.,  of  England. . . .  492,  49S 

Henry  VII.,  Emperor 465 

Henry  VIII.,  of  England. . .  .395,  494, 

495-49S. 

Heraclides 164 

Heraclius 342,  425,  426 

Heraclus 164 

Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty. .  .518,  522, 

524.  525,  529,  555. 

Herbert 443 

Heresies 103,  240,  .521-522 

Heretics   .103.  165,  168,  230,  238.  239, 

253,  260,  306,  311,  318,  376,  379, 

387,  396,  411-413,  417,  419,  422, 

424,  461,465. 

Herias  .    . 164 

Hermenigildus 350,  352,  353,  3."J4 

Hermogenes 139 

Herod 95,  97 

Herod  Agrippa 170 


INDEX. 


5G9 


Herodotus 1 97 

Hefzer,  Louis 492 

Hilarius ~81 

Hihirv 233,^98 

niklel)rand,  ,'see  Gregory  VII.,)  371, 

372,  373,  447,  448. 

Ililderic 345,  4-M 

Hill 526 

Himeric   302 

Hip|)olis 173 

Hix,  D.miel  524,  527-5-^9 

Huly  Ghost 317,  389,  392 

Holy  Water 252 

Home,  Henry 98 

Homoousion   ,80,  124,  127,  128,    129- 

130,  177,  185,  195,205,  213,  215, 

218,  220,  221.  222,  224,  225,  226, 

227,  232.  245,  249,  250,  25G,  278, 

307,  329,  334. 

Honesty   503 

Honorius,  Emperor 247,  297,  301, 

322,  335. 
Honorius,  Pope.  342,  344,  346,  347, 

348.  401,412. 

Honorius  II   374,  380 

Honorius  IV.,  Pope 382 

Hooper 497 

Hormisdas .119,  340,  341,  346 

Hormuz 119 

Horslev 262 

Hosius'.  .206,  225,  233,  257,  277,  278, 

298. 

Houris  405,411 

Houston 526,  533 

Howard,  Catharine 496 

Husrh,  of  France 436 

Humanitarian 200,  511 

Human  Sacrifices 402 

Hume 454 

Hunneric 305,  346,  347 

Hunnius 483 

Huntington,  Lady 511 

Huntley 53S  539 

Huss 389,  391,468,  471,  475,  481 

Hussites 392 

Ilutson,  Austin 541 

H vginus 105,  252 

Hvpatia 238,  421 

Hiipostases 195,  325 

Ibas    330 

Icasia   423 

Iconoclasm ...  432 

Idolatry,  (see  Images,) 348,  484 

Ignatius 63-66,  153,  174,  397 

Images.  ..348,  349,  3.')0,  351,  3.').3,  356, 

357,  389.  416,  418,  424.426,427, 

4  28,  429,  430,  445,  449,  456,  464, 

467,  482,  4S5,  .522. 

Immaculate  Conception 404 

Indulgences..  .386,  387,  419,  437,  456, 


467,  477-478,  480,  498. 
Infallihilitv    .336,  344,  34.5,  348.  369, 

370,  38!!,  398,  404,  406,  413,  468, 

491. 

Innocent 334 

Innocent  II.,  Pope 374,  378 

Innocent  III.  ..377,  437,  441,  458,  462 

Innocent  IV 380 

Innocent  V 381 

Innocent  VI  384 

Innocent  VII 390 

Innocent  VIII 394 

Innocent  IX 396 

Innocent  X . . 397 

Innocent  XI 397 

Innocent  XIII 398 

Inquisition.. 230,  402,  4u3,  417,  422, 

459,479,491,  513,  558. 

Inquisitor 319,  431,  464,  465,  499 

Ipsimar 426 

IreniEus     .55-57,  67-69,  104,  106,  107, 

112,147,148,1.54,166,  167,   173, 

175,  209,  210,253. 

Irene 353,427 

Isaac  II.,  Emperor 4.55,  460-461 

Isabella 481,494,497 

Isliniael 396,  397,  398 

Islam 410 

Ithicus 290 

Jacobites.  .92,  330,  415,  424,  431,  433, 

434,  435,  460,  471. 

James 45-47,  137 

James   II 498,  511 

James  IV.,  of  Scotland 495 

James  V.,  of  Scotland.  ..495,  496,  498 

James  Bardaeus 330 

Jehovah 27 

Jerome. 54,  196,  233,  2.57,  270,  279, 

291,  292,  294,  295,  297,  298,  299, 

300,  301,321,  329,  .348,  389. 
Jerome  of  Prague.  .469,  471,  475,  481 

Jerusalem  181 

Jesuits.   .  .293,  396,  .397.  398,  472,  498 
Jews.. 380,  389,  390,   392,    400,  421, 

422,  434,  450,  404,  465,  468.  512 

Joachim , 440-441 

Joan,  Pope 357-359 

Joanna 481 

Joannes  Scotus 428 

John 322 

John  I .340 

John  II  340 

John  III 341 

John  IV 346 

John  V 348 

John  VI .3.50 

John  VII .350 

John  VIII 360 

John  IX 361,363,  .367 

John  X 367 


570 


INDEX. 


John  XI 3G2,  363,  364,  367,  368 

John  XII    365,  367 

John  XIII 365,367 

John  XIV 366,367 

John  XV 3G1,  366,367 

John  XVI.,  Anti-pope 366 

John  XVIl 369 

John  X VIII 369,370 

John  XIX 370 

John  XX 381 

John  XXI 383 

John  XXII.,  or  XXIII.  ..  .391,  467, 
468,  469. 

John  Baptist 9,  97,  147,  515 

John  Cantacuzenus   463 

John  Palaeologus  1 463,  465 

John  Palaeologus  II 465,  472 

John,  Bishop  of  Jerusalem 372 

John,  Bishop  of  Rome 38:2 

John,  of  England 379,  462 

John,  of  Gaunt 462 

John,  the  Armenian,  Emperor. . .  .432 

John,  the  Handsome.   . .    455 

John,  Tzimisces 430 

John,   Elector,   (one  of  the  "six 

princes,") 475,  482 

Jones.  . .  .513,  515,  517,  521,  524,  534, 

539  544. 
Jortin.  .'.63,  64.  71,  107, 108. 113,  114, 
lis,  123,  130,  139,  154,  156,  165, 
174,  175,  176,  193,  197,  2U2,  2ii3, 
204.  20>,  2!l8,  214,  -Jlo,  216,  218, 
219,  220,  2-24,  22\  230,  231,  232, 
233,  236,  237,  238,  239,  242,  247, 
248,  249,  250,  255,  >i56,  265,  272, 
273,  274,  277,  278,  279,  -280,  :i8l. 
282,  284,  '287,  288,  289,  290,  292, 
293,  294,  295,  296,  3I>0.  301,  302, 
307,  308.  314,  322,  324,  326,  33S. 
339,  340,  342  343,  344.  345,  347, 
348,  349,  3.50,  351,352,353.  354, 
356,  3.58,  359,  360,  3o2,  369,  370, 
371,  372,  374,  377,  379,  383,  388, 
389,  39f),  393,  419,  420,  423,  424, 
428,  429,  433,  434,  435,  440,  441, 
445,  446,  448,  4.57,  4.58,  459,  460, 
461,  462,  46.5,  469,  471,  496. 

Joseph  of  Arimathea     364 

Josephus 87-83,  94,  95,  93,  147 

Jovian   193,285,300 

Jovinian .  .  .374 

Julian   .91,  94,  95,  272,  279,  280,  281, 

282,  300. 
Julius     .  .  252,  254,  255,  280,  334,  412, 
421. 

Julius  II.,  Pope 394 

Jupiter 300 

Jurieu 215 

Ju.sfin 306,307,  425 

Jusiiua 291 


P.\GH. 

Justinian.  .291,  306,  307,  308,  309-310- 
311,  816,  331',  331,  334,  337.  339- 
349,  383,  390,  402,  422,  425,  513 

Justinian  II 426 

Justin  Martyr  ...51,  69-71,  139,  146, 
147,  J  52,  1.53,  1.54,  158,  169,  163, 
212,  213,  216,  392,  434. 

Justus 382 

Kavcjv 49 

Kenkhan 462 

All 368 

KiUe.    .    36S 

King,  First  Catholic 337 

King,  Jabez.    530 

''  Kingdom  " 9 

Kinkade,  Wm.  .525-526,  539,  540,  541 

Kirby 528 

Knight 506 

Knights  Templar 383,  465 

Knox 475 

Koran   393,412 

KvpiaKog^ 143 

Kyle 526 

Kyrie  Eleison .  .   449 

Lactanrius 196,  210,  298,  299 

Ladley   526 

Lady  Jane  Grey 497 

Lambert 496 

Lando,  Pope 363,  367 

Lanfier *    .   524 

Lardner 499.  .503 

Latimer 497 

Latronian 290 

Laurentius 382,  .383 

Ijawrence 177,  349 

Laws  of  Constantine 245 

Leander 353 

Le  Clerc 310 

L'Enfant 471 

Lent 166,419,456,  476 

Lentard 430 

Leo 254,302,  303, 

Leo  II.,  Emperor  304 

Leo  II.,  Pope .   347 

Leo  III.,  Emperor.  .278,  350-351,  416, 
426. 

Leo  III.,  Pope 347,  353,  354 

Leo  IV.,  Emperor 427 

Leo  v..  Pope 3';2,  ,367 

Leo  VI.,  Pope   357,  367 

Leo  VT.,  Emperor 431 

Leo  Vil.,  Pope 364.367 

Leo  V 1 II.,  Pope  305,  367 

Leo  IX 371 

Leo  X 395,  445,  477,  478 

Leo  XI. 396 

LeoXII 399 

Leo,  the  Armenian 427 

Leo  the  Great 336 


INDEX. 


571 


PAGE. 

Leoiitius 426 

Leovigild 350,  352,  353 

Lepers    379 

Libanus 280 

Liberius.  .2:29,257,258,  275,  277,  279, 

280,  281,  282,  283,  285,  280.  331, 

332,  333,  400,  412. 

Liberty  of  Christians 157 

Lilirary,  Alexandrian 413 

Licinius 178 

Liddell 271 

Limborch 434 

Linus 133,252 

Lisoius,  of  Orleans 443 

Locke 499,500 

Logos..  . .  .109,  110, 127,  12?,  198,  199, 

200,202,  209,211,  212,  213,  218, 

220,  420,  421,  502. 

Aoyof 202,  280,  434 

Lollards 466,474 

Lombard,  Peter 460 

Lombards 343 

Long 526 

Loraine 531 

Lothari\)s,  of  France 357 

Louis,  Saint 437 

Louis  the  Great 293 

Louis  VII.,  of  France 437 

Louis  Napoleon.. 402,  410 

Lucian 90-97,  99,  155,  175 

Lucian,  of  England 462 

Lucian,  Presbyter 194 

Luciferians 302 

Lucinius 1 88 

Lucius 253 

Lucius  II.,  Pope 375 

Lucius  III 370 

Lucius,  of  Britain 365,  367 

Lupus 287 

Luther.  .51,  358,  394,  475,  476,  478- 

483,  484,  485,  486-489,  490,  495 

Lutherans 489 

McLain 526 

McNemar 520,  521,  526,  533 

Macedoiiianism    432,  445 

Macedonians 186,  302,  32:^ 

Macedonius 297,  332,  333 

MacKnight    134 

Maclaine.243,  327,  329,  455,  475,  502, 

507. 

Macrinus. ]  78,  1 83 

Magna  Uharta 379,  462 

Magnentins    2.')6,  277 

Maimbourg 195,  196 

.Ma jorian    303 

Malev. 5.36 

M;ilhion 124,  129 

Malo :^70 

Manes 388 

Maui 113,  118-121 


PAGE. 

Manicheans. .  .118-123,  175,  286.  289, 
291,  294,  295,  296,  298,  319,  346, 
360,  369,  371,  374,  375,  376,  378, 
388,  393,  403,  417,  423,  424.  428, 
430,  433,  442,  443,  444,  445,  446, 
447,  457,  458,  460,  463,  474,  510 

Mann 547 

MavTiKT] 194 

Manuel,  Emperor 455,  465 

Manzius ' 489,  490 

Maratina 426 

Marcella 321 

Marcellinus 253,  285 

Marceliinus  Comes 347 

Marcellus,  of  Ancyra 220,  421 

Marcellus  II.,  Pope 395 

Marcion 113,  116-117,  139,  209 

Mareion,  Emperor 301 

Marcionites 1 23,  388,  424 

Marclus 330 

Marcus 252.  254,  255,  280 

Marcus  Aurelius.  ..171,  174, 175,  178, 
182. 

M  argaret 495 

Marionites 344,  393,  413 

Mark,  of  Arethusa.2S0,  281,  282,  283, 
284. 

Mark,  (see  Marcus.) 

Marozia 362,  364,  367,  368 

Marriage 103,  156 

Mars 300 

Marshall,  Robert.  .520,  521,  526,  533, 
534,  545. 

Martin 343,  347 

Martin,  C.  W 527 

Martin  II.,  Pope.. 365,382 

Martin  V.,  Pope 392 

Martinianus 302 

Mary .  280,  299,  323-326,  327,  335,  346, 
393,  394,  405,  408,  413,  416,  424, 
476,  479, 

Mary,  Bloody 494,  497 

Mary,  of  Ijoraine. 495 

Mary,  of  Mohammed 408 

Mary,  Queen  of  Scots 495,  496 

Mass 284,  359,  398,  406,  456,  464, 

460,  468,  476,  477. 

Massalians 455,  456 

Matilda  208,  372,  448 

Maxentius '. 178,  188 

Maximian 178,  185,  187,  188 

Maximilian  1 481 

Maximilla. 75,  125 

Maximin 178,  184,  187,  188 

Maximinus.   ..171,  176,184,302,303 
Maximus..l78,  300,  301,  302.  305,  367 

Mavo ■ 506 

Melancthon..  .  .482,  483,  484,  485,  486 

Melohiades 2.34 

Melchites- 424,  433,  434,  460 


57S 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Meletins 3.W 

Mellitu3. * 3S2 

MeUliiz 479,480 

Menena    1S7 

Meniio  Si  mollis 488 

Meniioiiites 51U 

ilessuliiia 17!),  180 

Metliuiiists   .  .511,  51G,  523,  525,  541 

Methodius 13^ 

Metropolitans 241 

Aletz.   411 

Micaiah.  Rabbin 451 

Mieliael  I. 427 

Michael  II.,  the  Phrygian. . .  .427-428 

Michael  III 428 

Michael  IV 415 

Michael  VI 445,446 

Mieliael  Falneologus 403 

Millard,  David.  .- 531,  539,  540 

Milleiuiium 190,298 

Miller,  Dr 483 

Miller,  Jonathan 526 

Milman    207 

Miluer  65,  88,  110, 114,  128.  150, 153, 
156,  194,  196,  248,  250,  258.  281, 
293.  309,  310,  322,  329,  331,  332, 
333,  334,  344,  34>,  363,  368,  371, 
374,  375,  377,  379,  381,  382,  412, 
489,  490,  502,  542. 

Milton ^99 

Ministers,  Christian. . .  .531,  532,  541, 
544. 

»         Miracles   1.53,154,193,203, 

205,  264,  292,  299,  300,  30  2,  347, 
348,  354,  454,  45ii,  471,  533. 

Mitchell,  Amri 524 

Mitchum 533 

Mohammed.. 9-2,  94,  310,  391,  392,  394 
398,  400,  401,  403,  404-410,  433, 
435,  438,  468. 
Mohammedanism..   346,  348,  408-415, 
416,433-435,448,512. 

Monarchianism 127 

Monaj^teries.   495 

Monks..  310,  321,  327,  3.35,  339,  351, 
352,  356,  362,  377,  378,  379.  409, 
410,  416,  419,  421,422,427,  429, 
449,  450,  452,  454,  460,  465,  471, 
476,  477,  479,  492. 

Monolo2:ia 4.53 

Monometensis 379 

Monophysites..329,  415,  424,431,442, 
460,  473,  474. 

Monotheism 326,  327 

Monotheletes.186,  342,  344,  346,  347, 
401,  412,422,4,24,  431,  445. 

Monothelitism 342,  344,  435 

Montanism 123-124,  175,  350 

Montanus 75,  129 

Moore 496 


PAGE. 

Moors , 438 

Morality  of  Early  Christians.  .157-161 

Moravians 291 

Mosheim  .72,  128-129,131,  149-1.50, 
167,  194,  195,  196,  214,  237.  X'39, 
240,  245,  259,  273,  274,  279,  283, 
292,  298,  3-27,  328,  330,  3.33,  339, 
357,  358,  300,  362,  363,  364,  365, 
366,  368,  371,  373,  374,  377,  384, 
388,  389,  429,  430,  433,  436,  437, 
438,  439,  440,  441,442,  444,  446, 
447,  4.")3,  454,  456,  463,  465,  478, 
480,  484,  48(i,  487,  488,  489,  492, 
501,  502,  503,504-507,  5 10. 

Mcslems 410 

Most  Christian 338 

Mother  of  Christ...  .323,  326.  394,  416 
Mother  of  God   .  .  .186,  272,  309,  323, 
324,  32),  326,  327,  335.  359,  394, 
405,  413,416,431,473,478. 

Mother  of  Man 323 

Mowkawkas 412 

Munzer 475,  487-489 

M  uratori 138 

Musanus 55,  56 

Musgrave 250 

Music    154-155 

Musselmans 400,406,414 

Napoleon 263,  395,  39!»,  407 

Nazarenes 103,  111 

Nazal ius 263 

Neander  108-109,  111,  112,  114,  116, 
117,  118,  119,  121,127,  130,  135, 
137,  138,  147,  149,  151,  153.  1.56, 
157,  159,  162,  168.  185,  194,  201, 
202,  208,  209,  210,  211,  212,  213, 
214,  220,  222,  223,  224,  225,  226, 
227,  232,  233,  234,  236,  238,  239, 
244,  257.  264,  268,  274,  281,  282, 
311,  322,  328,  334,341,  367,  386, 
392,  393,  421,  508,  542. 

Nelson 506 

Nero  .  ,82,  86,  96,  101,  171,  172,  178, 
180,  183,  364. 

Nerva 178,  181 

Nestorianism 325 

Nestorians  .92, 186,  298.  323,  330,  342, 
.360,  403,  415,  416,  419,  422.  424, 
431,  432,  433,  434,  435,  442,  445, 
460,  474,  512. 
Nestorius..308, 309, 322,  323,  324,  328, 
335. 

Netotaa 129 

Newspapers..  ,518,  522-525,  532,  539, 
541,  545,  546,  554-555. 

Newton   499,  500 

Nicene  Creed,  (see  Creed,  Nicene,; 

Nicephorus   248,  427 

Nicephorus  II.,  Emperor 432 

Nicephorus  III 446 


INDEX.    . 


573 


PAGE. 

Ificholas  T.,  Pope ^79 

Nicholas  II 371 

Nicholas  111 3S1 

Nicholaa  IV 382 

Nicholas  V 392  393 

Nicholas  Peregrinus 449,  450 

NichoUs 379 

Nicolatiiies 103 

Nominalists 440 

Nijier 178,  183 

Nilus 345 

Novatiau 107-109,  150,  212,  228, 

259,  298,  502. 

Novatus   108, 147,  253,  485,  542 

Numa.nS,  179, 189,  271,  272,  296,  299 

Numeriau 178 

Octavia 171 

Octavius   179 

OJitim  Theologicum 242 

Odo   452,  453 

Odoicer 303,  304,  331,  340,  424 

Oecolampaduis 482 

Officecs 130-136 

O 'Kelly  513,  516,  524,  541 

Old  Man  of  the  Mountaius 461 

Olvl.rius 303 

Olympia 180 

^Oj-wovaiov 130 

O'Neal 375 

Ordination 534 

Orestes  .      421 

Origen  V."  .5'3-56^  72-74,  113, 138, 147 

160,  161,  164,176,  211,  212,  214, 

216   221,288,300,  301,  320,  321, 

359,  388,  392. 

Origcnist 301 

Orobius 434 

Orossius 206 

Osius 197 

Otho 172,  178,180,365 

Owen 269 

Pagan  World 97,  102 

Palladius 331 

Pantaenus 139, 1 64,  216 

Pantheon 254,  346 

Paper 471 

Paphnutius 206 

Papias 54,  .55,  66-67 

Paraclete 231 

Pans  334,  335 

Parr,  Catharine 496 

Parsism   1 21 

Fascha,  (See  Easter,) 105 

Paschal,  Pope   378 

Paschalis,  Pope 356 

Paschalis  II    374 

Pateliere 408 

Paterini 433,  442,  448,  457,  458 

Patillo   516 

Patriarch 241 


Patrick 33h,  375-376 

Patricus  Succath,  (See  Patrick,).  .375 

Patripassions   110 

Paul   ...      .47,  49,111,133,141,  156, 

171,  176,  179,  180,  201,  219,  220, 

364,  365. 

Paul  I.,  Pope 353 

Paul  II 393 

Paul  III 395,492,  496 

Paul  IV 396 

Paul  V 397,  447,  491 

Paul,  (Novatian) 108 

Paul  of  Constantinople 343 

Paul  of  Neocaesarea 206 

Paul  of  Samosata 110,  124-129, 

131,  138,  177,  185,194,201,218, 

245,  334,  388,  421. 

Paul  of  Tibur 286 

Paulicians  . .  .298,  371,  417,  419,  423, 

424,  428,  430, -433,  441,  442,  443, 

444,  447,  448,  457,  463,  510. 

Paulus  Warnefridus 428 

Pelagian  335,  379,  401,  412,  422 

Pelagianism .373,  375,  .382 

Pelagius 216,  297,  322,  371-3/5 

Pelagius  I.  &  II 341,  342 

Penance 449,  464,  477 

j^GntGcost  1-49 

Pepin 268,  348,  349,  351,  352,  353 

412. 

Perpetua 1 75 

Persecution, . .  .170-178,  203,  238,  243, 

496. 

Persona 140,  325,  327,  483 

Pertinax 178,  183 

Peter   .37,133,  141,151,180,252,400 

Peter,  Hermit 435,  444 

Peter  of  Alexandria 287,  305 

Philip,  of  France 458,  465 

Philip,  of  Spain  497 

Philo 94,4.34 

Pbilostorgius   ....   140,  193,  204,  X~05, 

225,  2.27,  238.  259,  264,  265,  266, 

268,  269,  312,  320. 

Phocus 346,  425 

Piioenix, 165 

Photinus 299,  421 

Photius 20.5,  265,  2S6,  354,  355, 

359,  360,  422,  429,  430,  431. 

Pius  1 105,  2.52 

Pius  II.,  Pope 393 

Pius  III .394 

Pius  IV 396 

Pius  V   396 

Pius  VI 398 

Pius  VII .399 

Pius  VIII 399 

Pius  IX 399,  401,407,416 

Plato 197-198,218,  290 

Pleroma  1 15-1 IG 


574 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Pliny 83-85,  86,  94,  96,  134,  154, 

IGl,  174. 
Plummer,  Eld.  Frederick         5-?4,  541 

Pluuuch  93,1(54,173 

Politics  and  Christians 15(J 

Polvcurp   .     (;i-62,  104,  105,100,  107, 
"lir,  103,164,  175,  2.33. 

Polycrates  1^6 

Polygamy 157,  433 

Polptlieism 326 

FontJfex  Maximvs,  (see  Supreme  Pon- 

tift\)    178.  189,  251, -272,  273, 

291),  31)5,  357-3')9,  481. 

Poo.   ..      526 

Pope  .37,  229,  239,  2.V2,  254,  255,  262, 
203.  272,  273,  274,  :275,  278,  279, 
280,  309,  334-337,  339,  340-342 
34.')-31S,  3,50-354,  350-361,  362- 
377,  380-382,  383-389,  390-401, 
4(14,  406,  409,  411-413,  416,  419, 
4  .'5,  438,  439,  440,  447,  448,  4.56, 
457.  465,  466,  468,  473,  477. 

Pope,  Womau 357-358,  3.59,  377 

Porphory 239 

Porphyry  71,91,94,96 

Prayer 161 

Preaching 144 

Predestinarian 295,  296 

Predestination 373,  375 

Preahutus 134-136,  493,  559 

liQsajivTLdeg 134,135 

Presbyter 119,  130,  161,  190,  493 

Presl.vtcrian 132,  512,  523,  525, 

.533. 

Prestor  John 431,438,462 

Pricilli.an   289,  291,  296,  333,  421 

Pricillianists   290 

Priestley 59,137,210,511 

Printing 47 1,. 554 

Priacilla 75,  123,  134 

Probus 178,  185 

Procopius 347,  348 

Procuius 176 

Prophets,  False. . .  390,  394,  412,  415, 
438,  513. 

Prophets   136 

IIpofTWTTO 109,483 

Proterius 422 

I'rotest   4.82 

Protestant  Association 556 

Protestantism.  .186,  217,  323,  499,  512 

Prussiflns ■  379 

Publicans 442,  443 

Publit  Sports  155-156,  159 

Pulcheria 321 

Punshon,  Robert   523 

Purcell,  Bishop  of  Cincinnati.  . .  .362, 

413. 
Purgatory. . .  .370,  387,  449,  456,  464, 
477. 


PAOl!. 

Puritans 475 

Purviance 51.3,  521,  533,  541 

Putnam 524 

Pyrrhus 347 

Quadratus   153 

Quadrivium 439 

Quakers   123,  428,  510-511,  525 

(iuartadecimaus 323 

Quirinus     300 

Radajasius 296 

Rand,  S  524 

Ransom   515 

Rapid  Spread  of  Gospel  . . .  .111-143, 
189-192. 

Rathbod  of  the  Prisons 415 

Raymond  of  Thoulouse 436 

Recared 261.  315,  354 

Reeves  .  .  .  105,  108,  153,  189, 209,  228 
246,  247,  249,  253,  254,  257,  278, 
279,  283,  331),  331,  333,  334,  341, 
344,  345,  340,  347,  348,  349,  352, 
353,  354,  35.5,  356,  358,  360,  362, 
363,  334.  365,  366,  367,  368,  369, 
374,  378,  379,  383,  389,  391,  392, 
397,400,412,  419,  431,  432,  445, 
446,  4.53,  4.54.  465.  467,  468,  469, 
470,  472,  481),  487,  498. 
Reformation,  Age  of. . .  .394,  473,  475 

Reformers 237 

Reginald 380 

Regulus  283 

Relics 357,  449 

Remission 163,  373,  374,  542 

Reuchlinus 479 

Republican  Methodists 516 

Rexford,  Ann 529 

Richard,  Crusader ...  437 

Robbers'  Assembly 328,  336 

Robert  de  Sorborne 464 

Robert,  Emperor 462 

Robert,  of  Flanders 436 

Robert,  of  Normandy 436 

Roberts,  Abigail   529,  530-531 

Roberts,  Philetus .  .531 

Robinson 453,  454 

Robinson,  L.  D 536 

Rock.    That  Rock  is  Christ 35 

Roderic,  of  the  Visigoths. 419 

Rogers 497,  513,518,  519 

Roman  History  Concluded 414 

Romanus,  Emperor 432,  444 

Romanus,  Pope 361,  367 

Romanus  II.,  Emperor 432 

Romanus  III 432,  444,  446 

Rome   . .  ,104.  105, 107,  2.53,  274,  275, 
378,  407-410,  413,  482. 

Romena 452 

Romulus    272 

Roscelinua 440-441 

Ross,  Nelson 530 


INDEX. 


575 


PAOK. 

Rotharis 356,  357 

RuKn  19 296,  300,  301,  3)2 

Rupert  201 

Rush,  a.  Y 518 

Sal):i3  314-316.  317-320 

Sal)l.ath 151-i:)3,  418 

S:il)ellian.  110,  200,  3-26,  3S8,  421,  501 

Sabellius 109,  127,  121),  202,  214 

Saiiit  Bartholomew,  Massacre 396 

Saint  Peter's  Church 477 

SaiiitSophia  Church. 310, 311,312,389 

Sallust 93 

Salume 170 

Samaritans. 350,  422 

Sainostatiauism 421 

Saner 119,  313 

Saracens     396,  428,  432,  433,  444,  446 

Satnrninus 177,  209 

Sca3  vola 283 

Schaff 91,  92,  197 

Schmucker 483 

Schools    163-164 

Secundianus 331 

Secundus 228,  239 

Semiarians  .  .   186,  203,  219,  221,  222, 
223,  236,  238,  249,  361,  504,  506 

Septuagiut 93 

Serapion 139 

Serf-ius 347,  348 

Sergius  II.,  Pope.. 357 

Sergius  III.,  Pope.  .362,. 367,  368,  412 

Sergius  IV.,  Po"po 370 

l^ermo 21 1 

Servetus,  Michael 487,  492,  513 

Sesostris 398 

Severinus 346,  375 

Severus 171,183,  303,  346 

Sextus ]  74 

Seymour,  Jane 497 

Shakers 533,542 

Shaw 531,540 

Sheidler 526 

Sibyl 93,  165,166 

Sigismond 314 

Si  monton 526 

Simony 371,  383 

Siniplicius 336 

Siricius 288 

Sismondi 388 

Sisters 272 

Six  Princes. 475 

Sixtus 252 

Sixtus  II 235 

Sixtus  III 335 

Sixtus  IV 3!i3 

Sixtus  VI 39() 

Smith,  Ellas. .  ..513,  517,  531,540,  545 

Smith,  Thos   .   525 

Socinianism  .  .  .128,  326,  371,  494,  513 
Socrates.  .  108, 140,  202,  231,  296,  508 


PAGE. 

Soter 253 

Sozomen 140,  204,  283,  287,  296 

Spaniards,  Gothic  Liturgy. . .  .439-440 

Spiritualists 123 

Spoor,  J.  N 530 

Spoor,  John 530 

Stanley,  Dr..  .  .205,  206,  207,  384,  388 

Stanton,  Amasa 530 

Stephen,  of  Rome. 79 

Stephen,  Emperor 432 

Stephen  II,,  Pope 349,  416 

Stephen  III 279,  349,412 

Stephen  IV 353 

Stephen  V 356 

Stephen  VI 360,  364,  367 

Stephen  VII 360,  361,  367 

Stephen  VI I [ 363,  367 

Stephen  IX 364,  367 

Stephen  X 371 

Stewart,   Dr 216,  217 

Stewart  Prof 508 

Stone 513,  515,  519,  521,  526,  533 

Storr  and  Flatt 91, 150,  483,  48'4 

Stray  Synod 345 

Stuart,  of  Andover 483,  484 

Suetonius   85,  93 

Summerbell,  J.J 518 

Sunday 152, 153,  418,  492 

Supreme     Pontiff,    fsee     Pontifex 
MaximuB),  189, 'l92,  234,  251,  254 

Sylvester 254,341,360,  3(i0,  415 

Svnesius 237,  238 

Tacitus 81,  93,  100,  146 

Taganath 99 

Tagunus 365 

Talmud 92,  95 

Tamerlane 438 

Tatian 116-117,  139,  209 

Tavlor 497,  541 

Teachers 136-141 

Temporal  Power.  .   268,  348,  351.  409 
Tertullian.  .74,  113,  140,  210-211',  257 

Tetzel   478,479 

Teutonic  Knights 260,  466 

060(5,— Theodosius 286 

Theodelinda 344,  385 

Theodora 307,  310,  33*^,  363 

Theodora,  Empress  of  Theophilus.428 

Theodore 330,430 

Theodore  11.,  Pope 367 

Theodoret 132,  2o4,  272,  283,  330 

Theodoric 304,  337,  310,  355,  385 

Theodorus 347 

Theodoras  II.,  Pope 361 

Theodosius..  .  .209.  285,  320,  449,  502 

Theodosius  II 301,  321,  325,  328 

Theodosius  HI 426 

Theodotus 127.  .334 

Theognis,  of  Nice. 228,  2.39 

Theognoslus,  of  Alexandria 388 


576 


INDEX. 


rheonas,  of  Marmarica..2^1,  228,239 
Theophilua...  .110,  139,  140,  176,  320 

Theophilus,  Emperor 4i8 

Vheophilus  Indicus 204,  2(i7 

Theophilus,  of  Alexandria.. .  .237,  3-20 

Vheophilus,  (of  Goths),   2_H8 

Theotokos 335 

QeoTOKog ^'■^'■^ 

Thomas  a  Kempis 393 

Thomas,  Elder  Joseph 540 

Vhomas,  of  Walsingham 471 

Thomas  the  Manichean 43L 

1'hompeon.    .  .  .519,  5^8,  530,  533,  541 

Thompson,  Sally 529 

Thor 343 

Thrasamond 272,  345 

Three  Chapters 330,  338 

Thundering  Legion 175 

Tiberius 178,179,425 

TiUemont.  143, 173,  237,277,  283,  300 

Timmons,  Melissa 530 

Timothy  the  Cat 422 

Titus 101,  172,  173,  178, 180,  302 

Toulouse,  Earl  of 458 

Trajan 83,  94,  171, 178,  252,  398 

Transition  Age 186 

Transubstantiation .  .389, 433,  466,  497 

Triad Ill,  198,  208,  213,  315 

Tptag 140,235 

7Vin,itas 140 

Trinity.  .  .110,  111,  114,  1.39,  230,  541 
Tritheism..2(IO.  227,  310,  441,  483,  508 

Triviales — Trivium 439 

Trypho 434 

Tw-yphosa 134 

Tue.^day 261 

Ulphii.^s   .268,  271,  297,  311.  320,  335 

Union  Chriatian  College   547 

Um?,ari.<^n!. 140,  314,  504-513,  54(i 

Unity  of  Ei.rlj  Christians 155 

Uiiivers-^lists    512.  545 

Urban  II.,  l>pc 369,  374,  436 

Urban  III 376 

Urban  IV 381 

Urban  V 384 

Urban  VI 384,  385,  388 

Urban  VII 396 

Urban  VIII.,  Pope 397,  491 

IJrbanus 253 

Ursacius 276,  281,  333 

Ursinus ?84,  283,  287 

Usher,  Archbishop 3'^0,  381 

Valens 271,  28S,  JiO^,  312,  332 

Valentine 113 

Valentine,  Pope 357 

Valentine  Gentill 492 

Valentinian   . .  .277,  284,  292,  3(K),  32S 

Valentinus 138,  209 

Valerian 171, 177, 178,  184 

Valerius 13" 


PAGE. 

Valesius 283,  288,  289 

Vatican   302 

Vatican  Library 302,  393 

Vespasian 93,  172,  178,  180 

Vesla  272 

Vice  God 347 

Victor 69,  104,  253,  347,  374 

Victor  II.,  Pope 371 

Victor  III   374 

Victor  Emmanuel 409,  411,  416 

Vigilius. .  .32l»,  330,  340,  341,400,  412 

Virgil 93,  94,  95,  299 

Virgilius 320,  330 

Virgins 272,  296,  299 

Vitellius 172,178.180 

Vortigern 369,  452 

Waddington. . .  .97, 109, 124,  125,  459 

"Wait,  Elder  O.J 518 

Waldenses 443,  455,  456,  474 

Walter,  Elder  I.  N 526,  540 

War  and  Christians 1 56,  265 

War  in  Heaven 229,  205,  266 

Wasson,  Elder 541 

Waterland,  Dr 506-507 

Watts 499,  508-509,  516 

Webster  1 53 

Wells.  Elder 506 

Wesley 111,511 

Whiston 499,  502-503,  505,  506 

Whitby 499,  .501 

Whitefield,  Geo 511 

White  Pilgrim 540-541 

Whi'sius 515 

WicklifF..  .389,  391,  465,  466,  469,  475 

Wilfred 350 

William,  Prince  of  Orange 493 

William  Rufus 453 

William  Sawtre 467 

William,  of  Prussia 407, 4 i  I 

Willi  imson 526 

Wood,  E 530 

Worley 526,  5.35,  536-.'')37 

Writers,  Christian 540,  541 

Xenias     460 

Year  of  Our  Lord 383 

Y.  M.  Christian  Association 545 

Young 538 

Younker,  George 482 

Zachary,  Pope 348,  351 

Zaneb ■   408 

Zenghis 438.462 

Zeno   304,  332,  346 

Zenobia 129,  177,  185.  186,  400 

Zephyrinus 2.53 

Zinzendorf,  Count 291 

Zoe  444-445 

Zonaras 2')6 

Zosinius 94?.,  287,  334,  401,  412 

Zo.-'Jmus,  Poop- 412 

i^uinple 475,  476,  4S2,  4JM 


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History  of  the  Christian  church  form  its 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Librar 


1    1012  00062  0486 


